John Higgins of Scotland competes during the semifinal against Judd Trump of England at 2019 Snooker World Open in Yushan, east China's Jiangxi Province, Nov. 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
John Higgins was ousted from Snooker World Championships.
LONDON, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Four-time world champion John Higgins was ousted from the second round of the World Championship 13-11 by qualifier Kurt Maflin, despite the veteran scoring a 147 maximum on Thursday.
World number 43 Maflin led Wednesday's first session 5-3, but Higgins staged a strong comeback on Thursday by hitting a break of 147 in the 12th frame.
The pair seesawed for a long time until Maflin took the 23rd and 24th frames to seal his second win at Crucible.
Higgins told the World Snooker Tour website: "Kurt played amazing, to finish it the way he did. He bulldozed his way over the line. I'm disappointed because I had a chance at 11-10. When I come away from the tournament I will reflect on the 147, but at the moment I'd swap that for a place in the quarterfinals."
Meanwhile, three-time champion Mark Selby drew 8-8 with Thai player Noppon Saengkham. Reigning world champion and world number one Judd Trump trails Chinese hopeful Yan Bingtao 5-3 after the first session. ■
