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John Higgins showed his class with a sporting gesture towards Shaun Murphy following his defeat in their World Snooker Championship semi-final. The veteran Scot had high hopes of securing a fifth Crucible triumph but fell at the penultimate hurdle. He found himself on the wrong end of a 17-15 scoreline as Murphy prevailed under pressure to reach the final against Wu Yize.

Higgins went into the final day of the match with a 13-11 lead but a series of errors allowed Murphy to turn things around. He broke down on 50 in a tense final frame, handing his English rival the opportunity to finish the job. In spite of his painful defeat, Higgins put his frustrations to one side to show his appreciation for Murphy immediately afterwards.

He shared a warm embrace with his opponent, showing his true colours as a genuine sportsman and living up to his reputation as one of snooker's elder statesmen.

Speaking to Sportsboom in the wake of his victory, Murphy reflected: "He was just very complimentary, you know, class act on and off the table. He's an absolute pro's pro."

Higgins showed great maturity to put his disappointment to one side, which he made no attempt to hide in his post-match interview.

He delivered a scathing review of his own performance, describing his late errors as 'criminal' and suggesting that he didn't deserve to win.

"My shot on the black on the frame at the end there was very weak," he said. "I know the pressure was on but when you look at the final session Shaun was punching and really going for it. I got lost a little bit towards the end there.

"I shouldn't have been below that black. It was criminal the way I played the shot. But the way Shaun hit the ball in that last session, you cannot hit it better than that.

"It was incredible, it really was. He just hits it like God. I am disappointed, but what can you do?"

Murphy, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to secure his second Crucible crown when he goes up against Wu, who edged a final-frame decider against Mark Allen to book his place in snooker's showpiece match.

"I came out today knowing if I got my chances I could score," said a jubilant Murphy after beating Higgins.

"When I got back to level pegging after the first two frames I thought 'here we go' and then at two frames down at the interval I knew I could do it again if I got the chances.

"John Higgins... what a player and what a man. The harder it gets on the table the tougher he gets. The better he plays. It is just like 'will you ever give me a break?'.

"He's such a competitor. If I'm half the player when I'm in my fifties as he is, I'll be very proud."

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