John Higgins withdraws from German Masters as his father passes away

John Higgins won his opening match in the German Masters in Berlin but immediately left for the airport when informed that the condition of his father, whose cancer was diagnosed as terminal five months ago, had worsened. However, the death of John Sr was announced while the three‑times world champion was still travelling. Higgins made a break of 143, the highest of the tournament, in beating Robert Milkins 5-3 before his withdrawal gave Marco Fu, a 5-1 winner over Mark King, a walkover into the quarter-finals. Mark Selby progressed impressively to 3-1 against Stephen Hendry with breaks of 76, 105 and 83, at which point his pot success rate stood at 99%, but the seven‑times world champion levelled at 3-3 before missing a key green in each of the next two frames as Selby prevailed 5-3.