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Johnfidence booster: Higgins gets his UK Championship title challenge off to a winning start

THE Scot racks up a 6-2 win over Lee Walker to set up second-round clash with Jamie Cope.

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UK OK: John Higgins gets off to a flier

JOHN HIGGINS admits he is on a high after getting his UK Championship title challenge off to the perfect start with a 6-2 win over Lee Walker.

Three-time UK champion Higgins cruised to an excellent first-round win over Welshman Walker at York’s Barbican Centre.

And with victory the world No.14 set up an intriguing second-round showdown with Stoke potter Jamie Cope on Saturday afternoon.

Higgins, who has struggled badly for form this season, said: “Any win is a good win for me just now. I am low on confidence.

“The last couple of tournaments I have lost in the first round but not done a lot wrong.

“Hopefully I can have a run here. I have not done much in the last two years.

“I am having a bad spell now but I am still trying and the competitive desire is still there.

“I don’t know if it will turn and restore confidence. It is a struggle for me now.

“This week is important to me and if results don’t go for me I might not be in the Masters.”

Higgins last won the UK title in 2010, the same season he also won his fourth World Championship crown.

But this season the misfiring Scot has only managed one quarter-final in a surprising barren spell for a player of such proven quality.

If Higgins doesn’t have a good UK tournament his place at the Masters – snooker’s most prestigious invitational event – will be in serious doubt.

He must stay in the elite top 16 to guarantee his participation in January.

He said: “This week is really important for me. If results go against me I probably won’t be in the Masters – that would be a big blow.

“Normally qualification is taken for granted.

“But you don’t deserve to be there if you don’t win matches – and I haven’t been winning matches.”

Higgins’s countryman Anthony McGill produced a battling comeback to maintain his interest in this year’s £700,000 tournament.

Glaswegian McGill bravely fought back from 4-2 down to beat Greek cueman Michael Georgiou 6-4 in an entertaining first-round clash.

Georgiou, the world No.92, pocketed breaks of 56, 64 and 38 for a two-frame lead.

But rising star McGill hit back in style with runs of 83, 48, 64 and 52 to book his place in the second round. Next up is a Saturday showdown with either Dubliner Fergal O’Brien or Brazilian potter Igor Figueirdo.

Today Glaswegian Stephen Maguire gets his UK title quest under way against Chinese player Lu Ning.

Maguire, the 2004 UK champion, has also struggled for form this season.

But the Milton man found some welcome form at the Ruhr Open in Germany last week and goes to York after a much-needed confidence boost.