Hunter reaches Masters final again

Paul Hunter reached his third Masters final in four years today with a 6-3 win over John Higgins at the Wembley Conference Centre.

Twenty-five-year-old Yorkshireman Hunter will face either Jimmy White or Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final.

“I would love to play Jimmy. He has been my hero since I’ve been playing snooker,” said Hunter – even though he knows he would not necessarily have the crowd on his side against the veteran Londoner.

“It would be fantastic for me to play him in the final. I might even have one or two fans – my mum and dad.”

Hunter – who knocked out defending champion Mark Williams in the quarter-finals – produced breaks of 96, 91 and 68 as Higgins struggled to get to grips with conditions.

The Scot launched a verbal assault on the sport’s governing body after his defeat, so displeased was he with the state of the tables at Wembley.

Hunter, in contrast, said: “I thought it was fine. People have complained about it – but I just tried to stop thinking about it.

“I thought it was a good match, and I could have won 6-2.”

Higgins saw things differently.

“It was torture out there,” said the Scot.

“We were playing with a light white, and the cushions were an absolute joke.

“I just couldn’t get hold of the cue ball, and we shouldn’t have to play on that. The table was a disgrace. Top players are not used to it.

“I’ve asked for something to be done. It’s a sad day for snooker when no one listens to the players.

“But it’s not sour grapes. It would have been a travesty had I won that match.”

After many complaints earlier in the week, the table was re-covered before the quarter-finals. But the problems do not appear to have been eradicated.

Last night cloth manufacturers Milliken said: “We conclude that conditions are about as perfect as they could be for the cloth.”