Jack Lisowski produced a composed display in the opening round of the 2023 Masters to see off former champion John Higgins 6-3 and claim his first victory at the Masters.
In previous years, the Gloucestershire cueman has suffered some chastening experiences, winning just four frames in his previous three appearances.
In his debut in 2019 he was comfortably beaten 6-1 by Ding Junhui, in 2020 he was beaten 6-2 by Kyren Wilson and last year he was clobbered 6-1 by Ronnie O’Sullivan.
But Lisowski’s confidence would have been high going into the tournament following an impressive showing at the Cazoo UK Championship in November when he came within one frame of reaching the final, losing 6-5 to Mark Allen in the semis.
Higgins was making a record 29th appearance at the Masters this year, having won the tournament in both 1999 and 2006.
However, despite his previous victories he has a mixed record in the tournament overall, losing his opening match 14 times.
The match itself got off to a cagey start, with both players playing tentatively and missing makeable pots.
But with the opening frame tied at 40-40, Higgins was the first to blink, missing a difficult last red while using the rest and handing Lisowski a 1-0 lead, which he gleefully accepted.
Lisowski quickly capitalized on this momentum, comfortably securing the second frame with a break of 68, before Higgins masterfully responded with a clearance of 142, the highest break of the tournament so far.
The pair traded frames four and five before Lisowski produced an excellent break of 100 to secure frame six and race in to a 4-2 lead.
Higgins then missed a crucial opportunity in frame seven, missing a short red with the score at 55-0, before eventually losing the frame after a poor safety exchange.
The Scotsman pulled one back in the eighth, despite missing a black while up 65-0 and chasing a 147.
But there would be no comeback for the former champion, as Lisowski produced an exceptional break of 93 in the final frame to win the match, delighting the 2000 strong crowd with a series of exhibition shots on his way to victory.
After the match Lisowski was quick to admit that this victory is a huge relief for him considering his disappointing performance in previous years.
“I haven’t got any fond memories of this place, so to win tonight against a legend like John is a fantastic feeling, I can’t believe it.
“I’ve been working really hard, and when you’re playing in that venue in front of that crowd and you’re on a winning break, it’s the reason I started playing Snooker as a kid.
“It felt like a very special moment to finally break my duck here and get that win tonight.”
This victory sets up a mouth-watering quarter final between Lisowski and his friend Hossein Vafaei, the first ever Iranian player to play at the Masters who is making his debut this year.
The Iranian was a late entry into the competition due to Zhao Xintong’s ban amid a match-fixing investigation.
“Hossein is a great lad and a very good friend of mine.
“He’s a future top 16 player and he’ll stay there for many years to come, because he plays the game the right way.
“But it will be business on the table, and I’ll try to take him out.”
Lisowski will be keen to build on his excellent form before the World Grand Prix returns to Cheltenham Racecourse next week between 16-22 January.
The Gloucestershire man will kick off his tournament in the evening session on 16 January against world number 31 Robert Milkins.
