Snooker: Higgins glad of breaks in Ronnie fight
Tonight, Higgins, the three-time former champion, will take on Mark Williams, winner in Sheffield in 2000 and 2003, in the first of four semi-final sessions.
But the 35-year-old Scot was fearing the worst yesterday when O'Sullivan looked to be taking charge of their quarter-final tussle during the afternoon, and admitted he had O'Sullivan's collapse to thank for his 13-10 success.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe ever unpredictable O'Sullivan frequently led frames before missing and letting Higgins in to pinch them. Higgins said: "At 8-5 down I thought I was on my way out of the tournament because Ronnie's the best front-runner we've got.
"You can forget it sometimes. So it was lucky for me he missed a few he wouldn't normally miss."
Williams was a 13-5 quarter-final winner over Northern Ireland's Mark Allen, and has reached the last four for the first time since winning in 2003.
China's Ding Junhui fended off a fightback from Mark Selby to advance to the semi-finals for the first time.
Leading 10-6 from the second session, Ding saw Selby claw his way back to 10-10, but he dug in to win 13-10 and begins his last-four clash with Judd Trump later this afternoon.