Snooker: Higgins falls under weight of mistakes

John Higgins admitted he was "terrible" after going out of the Thailand Masters here yesterday.

The Scot has faded after an impressive start to the season and took a swipe at playing conditions in the Merchant Court Hotel following his 5-3 defeat by Matthew Stevens in a quarter-final that was littered with unforced errors.

Higgins, out of form since winning three tournaments at the start of the season, said: "It was awful and I don't think conditions helped. The table was a joke. The bounce off the cushions was very inconsistent and that made the cue-ball hard to control."

He did manage to steal the fifth frame by potting pink and black to edge 3-2 ahead.

Stevens won a scrappy sixth frame, though, and moved 4-3 up with a 30 clearance to pink after Higgins had missed the penultimate red from short range to a top-corner pocket.

It was an expensive blunder and so too was the in-off from an attempted safety shot which gave Stevens the chance to compile a 57 break that saw him reach a semi-final for the first time since last year's Embassy World Championship.

Stevens next plays Stephen Lee, who ended Ken Doherty's title defence with 5-4 victory.