EARNED THE HARD WAY
Masters finals are usually a box office heavyweight fight anyway, but I felt something very particular about this one: whoever lost the final would've been so frustrated. Higgins's defeat is his fifth consecutive final loss since he won his fourth world title in 2011. That includes three consecutive finals in Sheffield (2017/18/19). He's a great and he's been great for the last 15 years, but it must hurt having no Triple Crown silverware to show for it, having got so close so many times. He's become the oldest Triple Crown finalist ever, John. And he's not finished. But this final will certainly not help his self-belief in those big events. As for Kyren, it was so deserved. The trophy couldn't go to a nicer and more dedicated player. But it would hurt had he lost, it would hurt a lot. The Masters was where he made his first Triple Crown final in 2018, and he was in tears after defeat to Mark Allen. But he only built on from that - made the semifinals of the ...
