Higginson makes final

Andrew Higginson's remarkable week goes on after he beat Stephen Maguire 6-3 to book a place in the final against Neil Robertson. The Widnes-baed Higginson won the opening frame with a break of 48, though Glaswegian Maguire (pictured) levelled with 55 in

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Higginson moved 2-1 up with 79 in the third, but Maguire took the match in to the mid-session interval level with 71.

Breaks of 66 and 94 in the sixth and seventh frames opened up a two-frame lead for Higginson, who seemed oblivious to any sense of pressure or expectation.

And a frame-clinching 64 - aided by an outrageous fluked green - moved him to within a frame of victory in the eighth, although Maguire delayed the inevitable.

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But two more half-tons - 53 and 57- saw Higginson home and in to the best-of-17 final against Australian Robertson - himself in excellent form.

Higginson - provisionally ranked 63rd in the world - is enjoying a stunning 2007 following a less-than-average 12-year pro career.

Prior to this season, the 29-year-old had never been beyond the last 48 of a ranking tournament and had won less than £70,000 in prize money.

However, he reached the last 16 at the Malta Cup last month, and has now beaten Marco Fu, John Higgins, Michael Judge and Maguire in Newport in a stunning run of form.

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