World Championships Williams 18-16 Higgins won the third championship after 15 years
In the early morning of May 8th, Beijing time, the 17-day 2018 World Snooker Championships came to an end in Crusoe. The 75 legends joined forces in a classic decisive battle. Williams, who had been leading in the first three stages, lost five consecutive games in the fourth stage, but in the end he stabilized his position and secured the victory 18-16, the third time after 15 years. Crucible, led the championship prize of up to 425,000 pounds. Higgins reached the final for two consecutive years and once again missed the fifth crown, but with a second round of 146 points, he won an extra 10,000 pounds for the race’s highest single-stroke prize.
The current World Championships opened in the upset-defending champion Selby, popular king O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui and other popular ones were eliminated one after another. However, it ended with a fierce battle-the 75 legend once again met in a fantastic final after 17 years. The last time it started in O’Sullivan and Higgins, this time it was starred by Higgins and Williams. In this way, the two proclaimed to the world that the era of the 75 three masters is still going on.
The marathon schedule did not exhaust the two 43-year-old players. On the contrary, in the decisive battle spanning two game days, the two performed their own unique excitement.
Higgins fell behind 0-4 to 3-5 in the first stage. In the second stage, the wizard drew with Jin’s left hand 7-7, but eventually fell behind with 7-10. In the third stage, Williams held a five-shot 50+ winning streak for four games, bringing the final to a new climax. Higgins not only relied on three high-quality 60+ to pull three cities in a row, during the period he launched an impact to 147, showing his general demeanor. At the end of the first 25 rounds, Williams further left Higgins behind by 15-10.
After a short break of more than two hours, the two sides started the fourth and final stage of the finals. In the 26th inning, Williams went into the red and lost the black. Higgins, who was holding back his energy, cleared the table with 131 points cleanly and rewritten the total score to 11-15. It is worth mentioning that as of the end of this game, a total of five breaks were produced in the final, four of which were by Higgins.
The good show continues. In the 27th inning, Williams scored 58 points in a row and lost the front sight in the middle. Higgins came on the field and then showed a single game reversal with 67 points, and the score became 12-15 in a blink of an eye.
In the 28th game, the tragedy happened to Williams again. He entered the game once, but was unlucky. He scored 47 points in a row and missed the ball due to static charges. Higgins did not hesitate to push back his opponent with 82 points in a single stroke, reducing the total score to 13-15.
The game further tilted in favor of Higgins. In the 29th game, Higgins took the lead with a beautiful three pass. After he scored 47 points in a row, he established a 52-point advantage. At this time, Higgins is not only very fierce offensive, but also almost perfect defense. Williams quickly revealed his flaws. Higgins made another 91-0 victory, winning four straight games to reduce the total score to 14-15, only one game.
After a 15-minute break, the two started their final duel. In the 30th game, Williams scored 47 points in a row and gave way to the good game. Higgins, who has long been accustomed to a single game reversal, won the game with 62 points on a single stroke. So far, Higgins has won five games in a row and drew Williams 15-15 in one fell swoop.
In the 31st inning, Williams habitually scored 40+ misses in a row, but this time Higgins did not have a habitual single-game reversal. Williams eventually continued to maintain his leading position with 16-15. Next, Williams scored 100 points in a single stroke to win the 32nd inning and scored 17-15 match points.
In the 33rd inning, Williams had the opportunity to lock the victory directly, and as a result, he scored 63 points in a single stroke and missed the pink ball. There are still enough points on the table, and the ball type is very simple, Higgins single shot 65 points to clear the table only two points advantage to come back to life, to save a match point.
The game came to the 34th round, and Williams was not discouraged by the defeat in the previous round. In this game, he scored 69 points over three strokes. Higgins made the final fight and was completely crushed by Williams with one shot from the far stage. In this way, Williams won 18-16. After a lapse of 15 years, he won the title for the third time in Crucible.
