The Wizard of Wishaw came to the tournament in decent nick from the PTC events in Germany and the Czech Republic, opened with scores of 105 and 100 in the opening two frames but could not get clear of Stephen Lee after the opening session of their match.#

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The three-time champion of the world was back in competitive action after serving a six-month ban after he was found guilty for failing to report a would-be corruptor to the sport after newspaper News of the World implicated him in a match-fixing scandal.

The last time Higgins played competitively, it was in the defeat to Steve Davis in the second round of the world championship back in April.

Higgins won seven matches impressively en route to becoming the 11th different winner of the 11 PTC events so far, defeating Shaun Murphy – the man he beat in 2009 to win his third world crown – 4-2 in the final.

The Wizard of Wishaw kicked off the final with a beautiful break of 132, and then doubled his lead with a 66. Murphy soon levelled the match with runs of 64 and 50.

Murphy was looking to be the first player to win two events in the series, but Higgins took control of the match by making a 95 and then made a 53 in the next frame.

“It was a good final. I only really missed one ball, when I should have gone 3-1 up,” said a buoyant Higgins. “I just came here hoping to get a few matches under my belt, so I’m delighted to win it.”

Whilst serving his ban, Higgins fell from world No.1 to No.4, but thanks to the win, he has climbed up to No.3.

Higgins admitted he was more nervous in returning to action after the ban than he was in his first world championship final, and even he didn’t think he would win the event after three days of action.

“I had to be realistic coming here as the other players had all been competing regularly for four or five months. I knew I was good enough to win it but I didn’t expect that much,” said the 35-year-old. “The first match was the hardest and that was the worst I played, Joe Jogia had chances to beat me. After that I settled down and felt a lot better.

“The draw was bound to be hard as the standard is so high now. Martin Gould was a very tough match as he’s the most improved player on the circuit, and then to beat two of the best in the world in Graeme Dott and Shaun in my last two matches was amazing really.

“Winning here gives me some confidence but there’s a long way to go, I would have felt that whatever happened here. It has no real bearing on the rest of the season,” said Higgins.

Higgins was worried by the reception he would receive from the crowd and his fellow players, but was pleased with the way it turned out. “I’m delighted, not just for me but for my family and friends. The reception from the snooker community was exceptionally warm and encouraging,” he said.

“I didn’t expect anything else. These are players I have known for years. They know John Higgins and I know them. I promised in September that I intended to pick up many more trophies, [this] is just the start,” Higgins added.

The fine start is the perfect tonic for Higgins.

In a press conference this lunchtime, Hearn said anyone in both snooker and darts – which he is chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation as well- who are involved in any form of betting will be given a lifetime ban.

The announcement comes on the back of snooker’s latest scandal, in which John Higgins was found not guilty of match-fixing after a sting by the News of the World had footage of Higgins and his then manager Pat Mooney of apparently agreeing to throw frames for money at a future event.

Higgins was found guilty of failing to report a would-be corruptor to the sport, and was fined £75,000 and banned until November, while Mooney was deemed solely responsible for the situation and permanently banned from snooker.

Higgins has agreed to take part in a new educational programme which will teach players about the consequences of betting and make them aware of the standards set by the WPBSA.

“Over the next couple of weeks we have a build-up to a board meeting on October 7th, which will approve a while range of new rules which will clearly set down the parameters that we want to see professional sport under and I believe it will take us to the very top of the queue in terms of integrity issues in sport,” Hearn said.

“We will be making sure that all the professional players involved in darts and snooker are aware that it is totally against the rules for anyone to have any financial gain whatsoever from any betting activity in these sports. In other words, no betting on anything. And that would involve not just betting on matches, but betting on parts of matches. This would involve savers, insurance bets on prize money, laying off bets on maximum breaks or high breaks. It’s a total blanket on any form of gambling. Anyone that breaks these rules is an instant lifetime ban from the sport,” he added.

David Douglas – a former Metropolitan police detective chief superintendent- now in charge of disciplinary matters on the WPBSA board, will be joined by Lord Stevens, chairman of Quest, as well.

Hearn went on to say: “Integrity in sport should be zero tolerance. We should always remember the most important people, not just the television companies that televise our sport or the sponsors who sponsor our sport, the most important people is the punter that buys the ticket or the viewer that watches professional sport at home on television.

“These people have got to enjoy their sport in the knowledge that the sport is cleaner than clean, that everyone is giving a hundred per cent all the time and that no-one is involved in any financial benefit whatsoever other than the prize money they are playing for. In terms of gambling, it needs to be completely and totally outlawed.

“We will be setting up, under Lord Stevens’ guidance, private confidential emails and phone numbers so that anyone who has anything to report has the obligation to report that. Failure to report, once again comes back to a lifetime ban.

“It’s time for all sport to take a very strong grip and a look at itself. We live in a different world, we live in a world of temptation, a world that requires education on the pitfalls that can be there by trusting other people, by being gullible and naive. We need to make sure we have systems in place to help these people, we don’t want a problem we want to guarantee that we will never have a problem.

“Setting up the Integrity Unit is a process we started several months ago – before the John Higgins case came about – by bringing Douglas on to the board. Snooker is a sport associated with honesty and sportsmanship, we’ve all seen countless occasions where players have owned up to fouls not spotted by the referee.

“Unfortunately in recent months we’ve had some high-profile cases which have tarnished the image of the game, and it’s vital for the future of snooker that we stamp out corruption and make sure we are clean, and perceived as clean by the viewing public. We have made massive strides forward commercially this year with new and successful events with exciting formats. But that progress must not be hindered by any form of corruption.”

Murphy beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in last year’s final, and on his return as reigning champion proved too much for Ding.

Ding was on course to take the opening frame with a break of 51, but Murphy was able to steal it, and then he took a 2-0 lead after Ding broke down on a break of 28.

The UK Champion responded in the third frame by constructing a 65 break, but Murphy opened up a 3-1 lead when he made a superb 124, collecting an extra £1,000 for his efforts to guarantee himself a point.

Ding was given an opportunity to pull another frame back after Murphy missed a red on a break of 55, however, when he missed an easy red to the right-middle pocket on a 31 break, Murphy was able to clinch the frame and the two points. The 2005 world champion ended the night by making his second century in the final frame, a 109.

“Job well done, a good start,” said Murphy. “It’s a long tournament though and it’s not how you start though, it’s about getting in the top four and that was a good start. Winning frames you’re not meant to is like a double whammy as it gives you a boost and it’s also what it does to the other player.

“The scoreline was flattering though as Ding played well in parts, but I’ve got a happy but long drive home,” he added.

Six-time Premier League champion O’Sullivan had to settle for a point against Marco Fu in the second match of the night after drawing 3-3.

The opening frame was more than 20 minutes long, but Fu seized the initiative by knocking in a break of 63. Three-time world champion O’Sullivan hit back immediately with breaks of 76 and 61 to square the tie.

Fu, winner of the Premier League back in 2003, was not to be overhauled by the Rocket, and he edged in front again after making 47. The match was turning into a high-quality affair, as O’Sullivan recorded his first century of the match with a 119 break.

O’Sullivan was playing well, and so was Fu, and it would be the man from Hong Kong who secured a point after making an excellent 87. Playing catch-up all night, O’Sullivan ensured the match would end as a draw as he made his second century break, clearing the table with a 103.

“I played all right and scored when I was in the balls. Marco looked comfortable at the table so I’ve got to be happy with the point,” said O’Sullivan.

“[Finishing] 3-3 is kind of a fair result as we both had chances to win the match. I played better and felt a little more comfortable as we’re playing more matches this year. I feel confident and hopefully can continue like this,” said Fu.

Meanwhile, O’Sullivan has pulled out of the Shanghai Masters – the first ranking event of the season – which starts on Monday. O’Sullivan is the defending champion, and there was confusion surrounding his withdrawal.

He informed World Snooker of the decision last night, but the story breaking the news had been removed from their website, fuelling rumours he hadn’t pulled out. However, it has been confirmed he will miss the tournament, citing personal reasons was behind the decision.

O’Sullivan said in a statement: “This has been a very difficult decision to make, however I have a very young family and at this moment I need to spend more time with them. I’m truly sorry to my fans in China, I love meeting and playing in front of some of the most passionate people in the world. I very much look forward to returning to China soon.”

World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman Barry Hearn said: “It’s very disappointing for his fans in China but we understand the personal reasons behind Ronnie’s withdrawal.”

Also, John Higgins will find out next week whether he is found guilty of match-fixing. Higgins, along with his manager Pat Mooney, stand accused by the Sunday newspaper News of the World for agreeing to throw frames in exchange for £261,000. He is expected to be attending a hearing on Tuesday.

Now in its 25th year, the Premier League has been won by snooker’s greats, Stephen Hendry (six), O’Sullivan, (six), Steve Davis (four), Jimmy White (one) and John Higgins (one).

This year’s field is made up of seven players who have each won a major event during the 2009/10 season, and the competition is as tough as ever.

Murphy upset the odds in last year’s Premier League, beating Higgins in the semi-finals and defeating O’Sullivan, the man who won this trophy for five years on the spin, 7-3 in the final. The 2005 world champion begins the defence of his title against Ding Junhui, and is anticipating a great battle.

“Ding and I always have great matches,” he said.

“This year at the world championships I edged through and a few weeks ago I played him in a tournament in China and beat him in the final. Maybe I’ve inflicted a bit of mental scarring and it will be good to see how the season opener kicks off,” said Murphy.

Murphy scraped into the semi-finals after starting the tournament badly last year, and this year he knows he cannot repeat the feat as defending champion.“It’s going to be very difficult to win the title again but having said that Ronnie did it for five years so it can be done,” he said.

“I’m hoping to make a better start to the campaign than I did last year but if I finish it like I did last year then I’ll consider it a success. I had a really bad start and was nowhere after a few weeks as I was bottom and propping up the table. I just snuck into the play-offs but it doesn’t matter where you finish as long as you’re in the top four,” added Murphy.

Last season Ding won the UK Championship for the second time in his career and was unfortunate not to win more ranking events as he made it to the final of the Grand Prix and China Open. The 23-year-old came of age last campaign, and has fine-tuned his game and matured into a great competitor.

The other match of the opening night pits O’Sullivan against Marco Fu – who qualified for the Premier League by beating Mark Allen to clinch the Championship League. O’Sullivan is out to avenge last year’s defeat to Murphy, and Fu, who won this event back in 2003, is aware of this.

“Ronnie is the man to beat and probably the favourite to win the tournament,” said Fu. “I had a good record against him but have lost the last four or five times we met so it’s going to be tough but hopefully I can perform well.”

O’Sullivan only won the Shanghai Masters last season, and by his standards had a poor season, but he always entertains gives the crowd their money’s worth when he turns up for the Premier League, and this year should be no different.

The other players in the Premier League are Neil Robertson, Mark Williams and Mark Selby.

Robertson is the reigning world champion after conquering the Crucible back in May. The Australian enjoyed one of his best campaigns last season, winning the Grand Prix for the second time and going on to become the first official world champion from Down Under. He also climbed up to second in the rankings.

Williams returned to form last season by proving to be a hard nut to crack at the majority of tournaments, and won his first ranking title in four years by beating home favourite Ding to win the China Open. The two-time champion of the world and former world No.1 will be a difficult opponent to face in this competition, and the quick-fire format will suit his game.

Masters champion Selby is hoping to go one better in the Premier League after he lost the final to O’Sullivan in 2008 on his debut in the tournament. Selby won the Masters at Wembley Arena for the second time in three years, and beat O’Sullivan 10-9 in a thrilling final in January. His Masters triumph was the only highlight of an uneventful campaign for the Jester, despite reaching the world championship semi-finals.

The Premier League will be played in a round-robin format over a 10-week timeline, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals. Matches will be played over six frames, with players getting two points for a win and one for a 3-3 draw.

One man who will not be appearing in this year’s Premier League is Higgins. The three-time world champion will find out soon whether he is found guilty of match-fixing after Sunday newspaper News of the World caught Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney on tape agreeing to throw frames for £261,000. Although Higgins has denied any wrong-doing, he could be banned for a lengthy period of time should he be found guilty.

Higgins is currently suspended from all World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association tournaments, and sources close to the WPBSA say he will not be appearing at the first two ranking events of the season, the Shanghai Masters and the World Open. Even though the Premier League is not classed as a ranking tournament, Higgins still will not appear because of his current situation.

On May 2nd, the scandal was revealed on the day of the world championship final at the Crucible. The footage shows Higgins and his manager in a Ukrainian hotel in Kiev talking about the best way to cover up the money he receives and how easy it would be to decide the outcome of a frame. It reveals Higgins with his manager Mooney agreeing on a price of £261,000, to throw frames in four separate matches in the World Series later this year.

The matter was thoroughly investigated by David Douglas, a former Metropolitan police chief superintendent, now in charge of disciplinary matters on the board of the World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association (WPBSA). The case has now been passed on to an independent dispute resolution service Sport Resolutions (UK), with an outcome set to be decided in early September. Higgins is currently suspended from all WPBSA tournaments, but a decision should be made before the first ranking tournament in Shanghai on September 6th.

Reports suggested the News of the World were reluctant to hand over all of the filming fearing that Higgins and Mooney could take legal action, but the publication had denied any such occurrence. Higgins and Mooney face charges of match-fixing, bringing the game into disrepute and accepting or pretending to accept a proposition related to gambling on frames.

Both Higgins and Mooney have denied any wrong-doing, and a spokesman for Higgins said: “Throughout this process we have avoided being drawn on speculation or conjecture. Given there is a quasi-judicial procedure ongoing, it would be wrong for us to comment. We are completely focused on clearing John’s name in relation to the accusations of match fixing.”

The Scot’s convincing 5-2 win against Mark Selby should have been a clear indicator that Higgins meant business in this year’s tournament at the Newport Centre, though; and he duly sprang a surprise by beating the in-form O’Sullivan for a place in the final.

Although this was easily Higgins’ toughest test in the competition, he still needed to overcome the challenge of the 2009 Welsh Open champion, Ali Carter, to land his hands on the rankings event trophy for a second time.

Regardless of his form coming into the tournament’s final, few could have imagined the one-sided nature of the opening session. The reigning world champion stormed to a 5-0 lead – hitting several 80+ breaks in the process – leaving his opponent wondering how to force his way into the match against a man relentless on his pursuit for glory.

Earlier in the day, sport’s focus had been firmly fixed on Britain’s Andy Murray, who despite his best efforts, was comprehensively beaten in the Australian Open final by the great Roger Federer.

It was a similar story in south-east Wales yesterday evening. Carter, assuming the role of Murray, was simply outclassed by Higgins. And when he produces that level of snooker it’s almost impossible to stop the man nicknamed the Wizard of Wishaw.

Higgins took a 6-2 lead going into the evening session; and during the interval the engravers must have been busy carving his name into the trophy because the Scot’s pending victory seemed inevitable.

It proved exactly that. The 35-year-old won the final two frames of the final session to record an emphatic 9-4 victory against Carter and seal the Welsh Open title for the first time in a decade.

This latest win took the 2009 Player of the Year’s ranking event tally to 21 – just one behind O’Sullivan – and he was delighted to win the Newport tournament for a second time.

Higgins said: “I was delighted with the way I played for the first five frames. That was the best I’d ever felt really. I was just properly zoned in.

“It’s hard to win any tournament these days with the quality of players around but I’m over the moon about winning the Welsh Open for a second time.

“The crowd here are one of the best. The Newport Centre is a great arena to play in.”

The three-time World Champion is now expected to overtake the Rocket at the top of the world rankings – if he matches his display at next month’s China Open then he will guarantee his place at the top of the rankings for the start of the 2010/11 season.

Meanwhile, Carter was slightly despondent that he had failed to retain his Welsh Open title, but conceded he had been beaten fairly by the better player on the night.

“I was under all sorts of pressure and I was just glad to make a game of it. I would have been glad to get back to 7-5, but he’s done me 9-4 in the end,” the 30-year-old added.

“The crowd have been great this week and I am disappointed I couldn’t keep my title, but I had a good go.”

The China Open, hosted at the Beijing University Students Gymnasium in the country’s capital, will begin on March 29^th and conclude on April 4^th; and Higgins will be looking to round off a spectacular season with a victory in the far-east, before another World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in May.

Rob Swan.

The three-time world champion was sloppy throughout, while his opponent performed admirably following the death of a close friend last week.

Allen admitted that emotions nearly got the better of him towards the end of the match, but the 23-year-old kept it together, held his nerve, and won the final two sets to book his place in the quarter-finals.

“It was a bit emotional towards the end, when it got to the last few balls I was trying not to cry. He was a member of the pool team I play for and a good friend,” Allen said afterwards.

The provisional world No. 1, Higgins, enjoyed a decent enough start to the match, taking the lead after a tightly-contested opening frame. Allen’s miss on the final green allowed his opponent to seal a 77-53 first frame win – but the World No. 11 had already shown enough fight to suggest he wouldn’t be a pushover.

And he proved this to be the case in the next three frames, winning them all to take a surprise 3-1 lead. To outline how well Allen was playing at this point, in frames two and three, Higgins failed to pot a single red as his Northern Irish opponent scored 77 and 73, respectively.

After being outplayed in the previous two frames, the fourth was more controversial as Higgins was deemed to have fouled while potting a routine black. The Scot appeared bemused with the referee’s decision, while replays failed to determine whether or not the call was correct.

“It puzzled me a great deal, every player knows if they touch a ball and I’m sure I didn’t,” the Scot said.

“I’ve looked at the television replays and couldn’t see the evidence. It doesn’t take much to make you feel sorry for yourself when you’re not playing well.”

But in frame five, Higgins reduced the deficit to 3-2 with a tactical 70-46. It appeared that an O’Sullivan-esq comeback was on the cards. However, Allen recovered well in the sixth, racking up a huge 124-6 win after two visits to the table of 51 and 73.

Higgins bounced back in the seventh, pulling the match back to 4-3, but Allen dominated the final two frames. First with a break of 69 in the penultimate frame before a break of 57 secured a 108-0 win in the final frame – along with his place in the quarter-finals.

After the match, both players revealed how they felt they hadn’t performed well on the night. Although it was the expected response from Higgins, his opponent would have been forgiven for revelling in his victory slightly more.

“It wasn’t very good. I made breaks when I needed to, but my concentration very poor,” Allen commented.

“I’ve won three games this season which is terrible really. The only time I played well was in the UK and I got beat!”

Despite his self-critical analysis, Allen was still pleased to have sealed the win, but recognised that Higgins’ poor performance was a factor in the 6-3 scoreline.

“It was definitely a good win and will help my confidence. John didn’t play well but you need the likes of Ronnie or John to be off-colour,” he said.

Meanwhile, a despondent Higgins conceded that Allen was a worthy winner, but was frustrated that the Masters remains his bogey tournament after this latest first round exit.

“I never seem to play well here. I can only liken it to a golfer who doesn’t play well on certain courses. I’ve lost so many first round matches but it’s the manner in which I’ve lost them,” Higgins added.

“Take nothing away from Mark, if you look at the points total he had about a 1000 and I had a 100. I was lucky to get three frames today.”

Allen will now play Mark Selby in tomorrow’s second quarter-final and will be gunning for revenge. The pair met at the same stage last year, but the Jester from Leicester advanced to the semis after a narrow 6-5 victory.

Rob Swan

The 34-year-old Scot secured his passage through to the playoffs with four wins out of six in the initial group stages, including a 3-0 hammering over Championship League debutant Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The Rocket rarely got going in the competition – his mind presumably occupied with thoughts of next week’s showpiece event at Wembley Arena. Just two wins for the current Masters champion resulted in elimination from the tournament, while Mark Selby was knocked out after he also suffered four defeats.

Higgins, though, was in fine form throughout the day. Barring a couple of brief slip-ups against Marco Fu and Ali Carter, the three-time world champion got better as the day progressed, and by the evening had hit top gear.

His toughest test came against the reigning Championship League holder, Judd Trump, in the playoff semi-finals. The 20-year-old came out of the blocks flying and appeared on course to reach the final himself after the opening two frames.

But 2-0 up and seemingly in control, Higgins was forced to showcase his quality and determination, and pulled the game back from the brink to 2-2.

And in the fifth and final frame, a quite brilliant 98-0 win saw Higgins into the final, where he faced Carter.

Playing in his home county, Carter was keen to win the playoff final to book his place in March’s winners’ group; but it was the on-song Higgins who dominated proceedings, capitalising on his opponent’s every mistake.

A 3-0 whitewash earned the Scot £3,900 in prize money, and he will be back in action next Wednesday in Round 2 of the Masters against Mark Allen.

Meanwhile, the Championship League will now take a week’s break before Group Three of the competition gets underway on January 18th.

Rob Swan

The outspoken snooker idol was defeated 3-1 by Ali Carter and 3-0 by Neil Robertson on Wednesday evening, but prior to that, beat Mark Selby 3-2 and Marco Fu 3-0 in Group Two of the Essex tournament.

Displaying glimpses of his best form, including one particularly eye-catching century of 138, the 34-year-old sealed £700 in prize money after winning half of his 14 frames.

Despite beating the Rocket, Carter had earlier slipped to a 3-0 defeat to the reigning champion Judd Trump, before an equally uninspiring 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Selby.

Perhaps the 30-year-old was saving his best form for the current Masters champion, as he needed just four frames to produce one of the shocks of the evening at Crandon Park.

However, Carter did see off John Higgins, 3-1, in the opening match of Group Two, bringing his prize money total to £600 at the end of the session.

Meanwhile, the Australian, Robertson, could only muster one victory on his first day of the tournament; but it came against the star name.

A 3-0 demolition of O’Sullivan will have inspired a lot of confidence ahead of the Masters. The pair are set to meet in Round 2 of the famous tournament on Tuesday afternoon for a place in the quarter-finals.

Group Two will resume – and conclude – today, with the likes of O’Sullivan, Robertson, Selby and Higgins all vying for a place in the winners’ group.

Rob Swan