On October 18, 2022, the Snooker Northern Ireland Open ended a high-quality showdown. World champion Higgins fought hard to save the match point in seven games, and finally eliminated Jackson Page 4-3. In the decisive game, Higgins withstood the pressure and scored a single shot and broke 100 directly to clear the stage. In the sixth game, Higgins fell behind 0-64 and completed the reversal. Jiang was still old, and Jackson Page still had many things to learn from Uncle Ma.
Higgins ranked fifth in the world and has won the ranking championship 31 times in his career. He is a legendary player of snooker and has become an idol of many professional players. He is known as the three masters of 75 , along with O'Sullivan and Mark Williams . However, Higgins has a different style and is better at surrounding the ball and simplifying the complex situation. Last season, Higgins was a pity and lost many finals to win the runner-up.
Last year, Higgins missed the match point and lost to Mark Allen to finish second. After the start of the new season, Higgins' overall performance was average. He lost to Chinese young player Yuan Sijun in the British Open, which was shocking. As he grew older, it was difficult for Higgins to remain focused. His performance was fluctuating heavily on the spot, and he was prone to upset, but he was always a popular player to win the championship.
The opponent is Jackson Page, who ranks 65th. He is a disciple of Mark Williams. He once performed well in this year's World Championships, which impressed many fans. Jackson Page's style is very similar to Uncle Ma, with good accuracy and strong continuous scoring ability. This time, he challenged the experienced Higgins, both of them reached their peak level. In the end, Higgins was even better and won the top 32 seats.
After the game started, Higgins scored a single shot of 91 points in the first game, Jackson Page was not willing to be outdone in the second game, and he scored 128 points in a single shot to retaliate. In the third game, Higgins seized the opportunity and scored 84 points in a single shot to lead. In the fourth game, Jackson Page scored 65 points in a single shot to win a game. After the first four games, both sides won a single shot, and it depends on who took the lead. Higgins fell into a hard battle.
In the fifth game, Jackson Page took advantage of the situation to chase, scored 65 points in a single shot, and got the match point first. In the sixth game, Jackson Page scored 64 points in a single shot and interrupted the attack. Higgins withstood the pressure, scored 69 points in a single shot, and completed the reversal with 69-64. Higgins did not give Jackson Page too many opportunities in the decisive game, and directly scored 124 points in a single shot to end the game, and finally eliminated Jackson Page 4-3 and advanced with difficulty.
The match was held at the same time, Hawkins scored 106 points and 61 points and swept Heathcott 4-0, Tom Ford scored 70 points and 4-0, and defeated Scott Donaldson with 70 points and 4-0. Hawkins played against Michael White , competing for the top 16 places, and the opponent narrowly defeated Ding Junhui 4-3.
