Turkish Masters: Extraordinary John Higgins fluke on pink seals frame against Dylan Emery in Antalya

John Higgins benefitted from a huge slice of luck to take the lead against Dylan Emery in their opening-round match at the Turkish Masters. Emery is the European U21 snooker champion and as a result earned a two-year tour card starting from next season.

Ad/> The 20-year-old Welshman showed few signs of nerves when taking the first frame against Higgins, but the four-time world champion responded with a 104 break to level up. Turkish MastersTurkish Masters LIVE — Ding Junhui, Yan Bingtao start the day16 MINUTES AGO A scrappy third frame went down to the final two colours, and Emery missed his chance to regain the advantage and seal the frame when 54-50 up, hitting the pink too high when aiming for the middle pocket.

Needing both final colours, Higgins then went for a long pot into the bottom-right corner and initially he was someway off potting the pink. “John still unable...” Neal Foulds started saying on Eurosport’s commentary, although he quickly spotted where the pink was travelling: “Unless this goes in the middle…” Dave Hendon then added: “Oh no, you’re kidding! Wow…” Turkish Masters 2022 — Latest results, scores, schedule Turkish Masters LIVE Turkish Masters represents another huge step in snooker's overseas adventure Foulds said it was “lucky” for Higgins and «unlucky” for Emery, but said regarding the latter: “The fact is if he pots the pink the shot before none of that happens.” The fluke was “salt into the wound” for Emery as Higgins then potted the black to snatch a scrappy frame before then taking a 3-1 lead into the interval.

Higgins eventually won 5-2, sealing the match with a 128 break. — - Stream the 2022 Turkish Masters and much more top snooker action live and on demand on discovery+ /> Turkish