Higgins hits form in Banbury

The world champion had already been eliminated from play-off contention but looked back to somewhere near his best form as he salvaged some pride from an otherwise disappointing campaign.

There is now only one more play-off spot up for grabs in the final week of the regular season, with Ronnie O'Sullivan the favourite to complete the line-up alongside Williams, Ding Junhui and Judd Trump.

Higgins made a blistering start to the final, firing in a clearance of 125 - the highest of the night - to take the opening frame, but Williams fought back to win the second despite missing a relatively easy red.

That was enough to secure Williams a place in the play-offs, but it was Higgins who edged back in front with a break of 89 in frame three.

The Scot then completed victory with a break of 48 in the fourth frame, leaving Williams well beaten on the night but successful in his overall goal of finishing in the top four.

"That's probably the best I've played in the Premier League and it was good to get a win," Higgins told Sky Sports after his victory.

Pressure

He added: "It's not nice to come into tonight knowing that you can't really do anything. I suppose all the pressure was on the (other) boys to try and get through, so I'm happy I won and Mark's probably happy that he got the frame he needed to get through."

Earlier, Higgins had ended Ali Carter's hopes of reaching the play-offs with a 3-1 victory over the Englishman in their semi-final.

The first frame was interrupted by a fire alarm, which continued to sound even as play continued, and it was Carter who dealt with the distraction the best to move 1-0 up.

But Higgins hit back in the second frame with a superb break of 101 to level the contest, and another fine run of 79 edged him ahead.

Higgins raced out to another big lead in the fourth frame and although Carter got back to the table he could not rescue his chances of finishing in the top four.

In the other semi-final, Williams set up his qualification for the play-offs with a comfortable 3-0 victory over fellow Welshman Matthew Stevens.

Williams took a scrappy first frame before doubling his advantage with a more convincing effort in the second, which he won 76-5.

The third frame was re-racked after a non-descript opening, with Williams once again taking control on the restart, compiling a break of 105 to cruise into the final.