Higgins holds off Brecel to secure final spot

John Higgins shrugged off a determined comeback by Luca Brecel to book his place in the Tour Championship final in Llandudno.

The 46-year-old Scot edged over the line 10-7 despite seeing a 7-4 lead evaporate and will now face Neil Robertson in the final on Sunday.

Brecel had beaten Higgins at the same venue to win the Scottish Open title in December and history looked set to repeat itself as the Belgian surged into a 3-0 lead.

But the wily Higgins chiselled out the next six frames in a row, including a break of 108 in the eighth, to establish a 6-3 lead which became 7-4.

But the veteran Scot was still struggling to find his best form and in successive frames, he was punished for failing to take his chances as Brecel came back from behind with breaks of 68 and 69 to move within one frame.

And when Brecel mopped up with a break of 108 in the 14th frame to bring the tie level at 7-7, he became favourite to seal his own passage into another ranking final.

But as so often in Higgins' career, he worked his way back into the ascendency, winning the next two attritional frames to move within one frame of victory then finally working his way over the line with a break of 67.