2015 Welsh Open - His name is Luca ... he flies in the SFs

Higgins records an important victory in

Last four matches of the 2015 BetVictor Welsh Open have now finished so we can reveal the semi-finalists of this one-of-a-kind tournament! 

Tam tam, taaaaam (or whatever sound a trumpet makes). Here they are: John Higgins, Mark Williams, Ben Woollaston and Luca Brecel!

John Higgins was the first player to cross over the "dark side" (where all the fame and glory lies), as he beat fellow country-man Stephen Maguire by an outstanding scoreline of 5-1.

The match itself wasn't the most exquisite demonstration of high-standard snooker, but it was a living proof of what determination can achieve.

Not the best of days for Maguire

Higgins took the first two frames with runs of 36, 37 and 31 before his opponent could respond with a 51 break to win his first (and last) frame of the match.

A scrappy 4^th frame was ended with a solid 63 break (baring John's signature), while the next one proved quite decisive for the fate of the match.

Higgins missed a black of its spot down on 33, this giving Maguire a perfect chance to get some table time, but sadly for him he broke down on 30 after missing a red, thus Higgins clinching this frame along with the very next one for a 5-1 victory.

A more entertaining match was to be seen when the likes of Marco Fu and Mark Williams made their entrance on stage, the Welshman scoring a nice 5-1 victory over the Hong Kong man.

Is the Welsh Potting Machine back for good?

Williams practically flew at 4-0 by firing in breaks of 103, 76, 108 and 80, before his opponent could wake up and realise what was happening on the green baize.

It must be mentioned that during frame four Fu had a huge chance to write his name on the scoreboard, but was unlucky to have a kick on 48, thus clearing the way for Mark's fury.

After the interval, Marco seemed more focused and hit a great 107 break to cash his first frame of the match, but it all came too late. Williams was ending the snooker affair with a top break of 46 for a place in the semis. And might I add that he looks unstoppable!

Luca flies to the semis

The Welshman will meet Ben Woollaston, who defeated Gary Wilson by 5-2 after using breaks do 35, 52, 59 and 49 in the process.

The last to write his name on the semi-finalists list was Belgium's Luca Brecel who put on quite a snooker show and beat Ricky Walden by 5-3.

Breaks of 98, 40 and 45 were breaking the ice for Walden as he took the first three frames of the quarter-finals match, but just as the mid-session interval was knocking at the door Luca won a scrappy 4^th frame to trail by 3-1.

Walden leaves the competition

At returning into the arena the Belgian prodigy opened with a 72 break and won a scrappy 6^th frame on the black in order to draw level, but also added a great 90 break to get his nose in front and a top break of 30 to wrap up the match.

The victory was celebrated with a punch in the air, for this is Luca's first semi-final in a major ranking event.

So, the semis start tomorrow and we have a very interesting line-up for you:

13:00 John Higgins v. Luca Brecel
19:00 Mark Williams v. Ben Woollaston

Who’s going to be?