John Higgins bowed out of the final after a thriller with Murphy

“I’m disappointed, but what can you do. As you get older, your action starts to go a little bit at the most extreme points of the match.

“But, don’t take anything away, Sean was great and he’s got a great chance to win it for a second time.”

Resuming the final session at 13-11 in arrears, Murphy opened in stunning fashion with a total of two clearances, only for Higgins to snag the next two to restore her two-frame lead.

Murphy’s fourth century of the match sparked another surge after the interval and as Higgins started to miss some easy balls, the Englishman went into overdrive, sealing a consecutive last-four win.

Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen will face China’s Wu Yiz Murphy in Sunday’s final after missing a simple black to secure victory before falling 17-16.

Murphy was full of praise for Higgins.

He said, “I learned today that I could score if I had the chance.” “At intervals, I was just saying to myself, ‘You’ve done it before, now you can do it again’.

“But John Higgins – what a player and what a man. The harder it gets, the harder it gets and the better he plays.

“If I’m half the player in my 50s, I’ll be very proud.”