JOHN Higgins admits he was punished by a better player before tipping Mark Allen to win the Dafabet Masters after his 6-3 defeat at Alexandra Palace.
Higgins had rolled back the years to reach his first Masters semi-final in six years but he could not live with Northern Ireland star Allen – who produced one of the finest performances of his career.
The Wizard of Wishaw trailed 3-1 at the interval but could not get back into the match, despite hitting his 700th career century in the fifth frame.
He was left to rue several simple errors throughout the match after seeing his chance for a third Masters title slip away.
“My tactical game was very poor, I had three or four very careless shots and when you play someone as comfortable as Mark I knew I would be punished,” he said.
“I knew he was going to clear up in the last frame and every credit to him, I thought he played great. I think he will win the tournament, I fancy he has it about him.
“I felt really good during the game but I hit a couple of elementary safety shots and he punished me. It makes you feel bad about the game.
“The turning point came in the third frame because I missed one into the middle and he cleared up to go 2-1 up, and then made a good break to make it 3-1.”
Higgins arrived at the last four as the favourite following the early exits of world No 1 Mark Selby and defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
But Allen has been his nemesis in the past. The pair had met three times prior to last night’s contest with Allen winning each time.
He moved 3-1 ahead at the break thanks to a couple of Higgins errors and extended that to 5-2 thanks to breaks of 65 and 64.
Higgins threatened a comeback with a composed 127 but Allen rounded it off in style at the end.
The 31-year-old will face England’s Kyren Wilson for the trophy and £200,000 prize today – with a first-time champion guaranteed.
Watch the London Masters LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with Colin Murray and analysis from Neil Robertson, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.
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