International Championship: John Higgins beats fellow Scot Stephen Maguire to reach the final

John Higgins brought back years gone by with a 9-2 victory over fellow Scot Stephen Maguire to reach the final of the International Championship in China.

The 50-year-old produced an impressive display to set up a meeting with home hope Wu Yizi in Sunday’s final.

Higgins won the first six frames of the day before sealing the victory in the first three of the evening session.

Four-time world champion Higgins will now hope to use his experience against the 22-year-old Wu in his quest for a third ranking title this year.

“Wu will be on the crest of the wave, but I hope he pulls himself together tomorrow because it’s his first final in China,” Higgins said of his fellow finalist, who beat world champion Zhao Xintong in the first semi-final in Nanjing.

Higgins ended a four-year wait for a ranking title by winning the World Open in March, and followed that up in April by winning the Tour Championship.

“Winning the World Open was pivotal,” Higgins told World Snooker. “It gave me a little bit of self-confidence in my game. It doesn’t matter who you are, when you start losing that, the game becomes very difficult.”

The world number six showed that belief as he raced to a 6-0 lead over Maguire, hitting century breaks of 101 and 137.

After losing the last two frames of the opening session, he recovered to score the three goals he needed to seal the victory, including rounds of 93 and 64.

“I’m happy with the way I played,” the 33-time ranking winner added.