Scottish Open 2024: John Higgins comes through Ian Burns test to set up Barry Hawkins clash in round two in Edinburgh

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John Higgins opened up his quest for a first Scottish Open crown with victory over Ian Burns at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh. The Scot, who has twice reached the final of his home event, will be looking to go one better this week and kicked off with a win on Monday. Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Scottish Open, live and on demand on Eurosport and discovery+.

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John Higgins was made to work hard to secure a 4-2 win over Ian Burns in the first round of the Scottish Open.

Burns is struggling to retain his professional status after a poor run of results in the current campaign, but he tested Higgins and made an excellent break of 130 as well as finishing the match with a pot success of 93%.

But Higgins used his match craft to restrict Burns’ table time, and he was able to close out a 4-2 win.

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There was an early mistake in the opener, as Burns failed to cover a long red when playing safe and Higgins knocked it in and made 52.

Higgins drew gasps from his home fans when missing a red, and Burns looked set to punish his opponent. But he began to lose control of the cue ball and missed the final yellow.

The frame boiled down to a safety battle on the colours and the telling shot came from Higgins, who welded his opponent to the black and Burns failed to make the escape.

Higgins plays 'excellent' snooker to leave Burns in difficult position

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To compound his misery, Burns slid by the yellow on the wrong side and Higgins cleared to the pink to take the opener.

Burns arrived in Edinburgh on the back of a lean season, with his best run being to the second round of the Saudi Arabia Masters.

If he was lacking in confidence, it was not evident, as he knocked in two stunning reds in the second frame and picked off a total clearance of 130 for his third century of the season.

Burns makes 'superb century' to level against Higgins

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Burns and Higgins passed up opportunities after getting going in the third. The frame came down to a battle on the green and Higgins’ match craft forged over 32 years at the top level proved decisive.

Higgins played a couple of good snookers, the second of which earned an opening which he knocked in to move back in front.

The fourth went Higgins’ way, despite his initial break being halted by him potting the cue ball.

Burns missed a long red and was unfortunate to see the object ball fall in open play, allowing Higgins to pick off a break of 55 for a 3-1 lead.

Burns had his back to the wall, but he came out fighting in the fifth and made 53 before missing a tough red to the left middle.

Higgins has pinched numerous frames from 50+ points behind down the years, and he looked set to add Burns to his list of victims.

There were a couple of tough reds for Higgins to navigate, but he potted them both with the rest – and repeated the trick to sink a tough yellow – but with the winning line in sight he missed a simple green and Burns breathed again to take the fifth.

The miss on the green in the fifth would have stung Higgins, but his mental resolve has never been in question.

Burns had chances in the sixth, but they were not easy and Higgins picked off a break of 45 to close out the contest and set up a meeting with Barry Hawkins in round two.

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Hawkins carried the form from his defeat to Judd Trump in the final of the UK Championship, as he beat Alexander Ursenbacher 4-2.

The exertions in York prompted Hawkins to withdraw from last week’s Shoot Out, and he told Eurosport prior to the meeting with Ursenbacher that he had barely picked up his cue.

Hawkins had an excellent record against Ursenbacher, as David Hendon said on Eurosport commentary that the total frames was 24-2 in Hawkins’ favour from four matches.

In impressive fashion, that was improved to 28-4 as he ran in breaks of 79, 130, 82 and 107 to cruise into round two.

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Chris Wakelin was a 4-0 winner over Scott Donaldson, and he will face Zhang Anda in round two following his defeat of Stan Moody.

Wakelin and Zhang are both in the top 16, but the draw for the Scottish Open was made before the former entered the elite group – meaning an early meeting in Edinburgh.

Defending champion Gary Wilson fell at the first hurdle, with Long Zehuang securing a 4-2 success. His reward is a meeting with Joe O’Connor, who was a 4-1 winner over Lyu Haotian.