Higgins looking to close out win

John Higgins was hoping to avoid another nail-biting finish as he resumed his semi-final against Mark Allen in the Betfred.com World Championship today.

The 33-year-old Scot, contesting his sixth Crucible semi-final and looking to win his third title, carried a 15-9 lead into the concluding session of his clash with Allen.

Northern Irishman Allen is 10 years Higgins’ junior but showed commendable fighting spirit last night, pulling back from 13-3 behind to avoid making an embarrassing exit with a session to spare.

Allen won the final three frames of the evening to at the very least delay Higgins’ charge to the final.

Higgins was pushed all the way by Jamie Cope in the second round and then again by Mark Selby in the quarter-finals, coming back from the brink of defeat to win both matches 13-12.

He required two more frames to get over the winning line today, with Allen needing eight.

The other semi-final was a tight match from the start, and from an overnight 4-4 deadlock Shaun Murphy moved 9-7 up on Australian Neil Robertson.

Murphy is determined to remain focused on his mission to reach the final and land his second world title, and insisted this week that he would not be distracted by any adverse crowd reaction.

The 26-year-old was a popular champion in Sheffield in 2005, when as a resident of nearby Rotherham he could count on strong local support.

He called on the loudest shouters in his adopted home town to cheer him all the way to his final victory over Matthew Stevens.

But since the breakdown of his marriage last year, and his move to Sale, the Crucible crowd’s response to Murphy has cooled.

It has remained largely respectful, however booing was clearly audible when he walked out for his second-round match against Marco Fu.

There has been nothing so obvious since, although a spectator was ejected during the first session of his clash with Robertson.

Murphy said: “Anyone who thinks coming and booing me is going to knock me off my course doesn’t know me at all.”

He added: “I’m here to play snooker. That’s what I’ve come for and that’s all I’m interested in.”