Higgins hails Selby win as 'best ever'

John Higgins said he was flabbergasted to find himself in the world championship semi-finals after an epic 13-12 win over Mark Selby.

For the the second successive match the two time former champion prevailed by the tightest of margins and it set him on a collision path with Northern Ireland's surprise package Mark Allen.

Higgins and Selby were locked together at 8-8 after Wednesday's first session with Higgins only pulling ahead to clinch a memorable victory in the very final frame.

"I really don't know how I won that match," said the Scot.

"I think I only counted three or four balls in the whole match that he missed... he's such a great player. That was probably my best win ever."

The other semi-final involves Shaun Murphy against Australia's Neil Robertson after the exuberant Aussie beat second seed Stephen Maguire 13-8.