Welsh Open: Woollaston beats Williams to set up Higgins final

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Ben Woollaston
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Woollaston is ranked 36th in the world

England's Ben Woollaston is through to his first ranking event final after edging out home favourite Mark Williams 6-5 at the Welsh Open in Cardiff.

Woollaston recovered from letting a 5-3 lead slip to win the decider and will face three-time winner John Higgins in Sunday's final.

Scot Higgins beat Belgian teen Luca Brecel 6-4 in the first semi-final.

"It feels amazing," said Woollaston. "I should have definitely won 6-4 but just tried my hardest in the final frame."

The 27-year-old from Leicester is ranked 36th in the world.

Higgins, 39, made three century breaks and survived a mid-match fightback from 19-year-old Brecel, who won three frames in a row from 2-0 down in his first ranking semi-final.

"He reminds me of Judd Trump when he first came on the scene," said Higgins. "He's got an unbelievable talent."

The four-time world champion also said the conditions in the venue had improved, following criticism from Ronnie O'Sullivan earlier in the tournament.

"The conditions were a lot better, and they recovered the table overnight," he said.

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