John Higgins first graced the World Snooker Tour in 1992, and has gone on to become an undisputed all-time great of the green baize. He has been ever-present among the top 16 for 28 years, the longest stretch of any player.
The Scot has won 31 ranking titles, behind only Ronnie O’Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry (36) on the all-time list. He has four Crucible crowns to his name, two Masters titles, and three UK Championship victories.
Looking back on the early days of his career, and asked whether he feels he has under or over-achieved, Higgins said: “I think at that time, I was one of the top players in the game and I was winning big tournaments, so I would believe I’d underachieved a little bit looking at the present. If I fast forward to where I am now, I think I’ve overachieved with the way I’m playing. I would never have believed back in those days that I’d still be playing as well as I am now, in my late 40s.
“The way I feel going into big matches is still the same. I always I had a little bit of trepidation and a little bit of fear walking into these matches. I was never one of those players that was so confident I was thinking I would win. I don’t think I’ve ever changed my outlook that much. I just think when you have your whole career in front of you, things are different. Now I’m a father myself, with three kids that are making their own way in life.
“Snooker was the most important thing to me when I was in my 20s, and now it’s not. Back then it was all I was thinking about. I was trying to make a name for myself and win big events. Now I am enjoying just being here.”
A constant in Higgins’ career has been his on-table rivalry with fellow ‘Class of 92’ member O’Sullivan. The pair have crossed cues no fewer than 70 times on the World Snooker Tour, with Higgins having won 33 of their meetings to O’Sullivan’s 37. Their classic contests include the 2001 World Championship final which O’Sullivan won 18-14, and the 2006 Masters when Higgins won 10-9 with arguably the greatest deciding frame clearance in a major final. .
“There is a different buzz when you play Ronnie, “ Higgins smiled. “There has never been any animosity from me. There has always been a little bit of a feeling that I need to try to beat this guy. He has gone on to cement his place, in 99.9% of people’s eyes, as the greatest.
“When we were 17, I thought he was incredible. There was something about him. I was proven right. I’ve always said there was a special ring around him, like the Ready Brek Man. Now when you play him, you see he is bigger than the sport. More people recognise him than anyone else and he has a huge fanbase around the world. You’d think when people look at rivalries, I might be one of his main ones. I suppose that is a good thing. He certainly has brought out the best in me. I’ve played some really good matches against him. He is an incredible player.”
Higgins and O’Sullivan have spanned eras, seeing the tail end of the great days of Davis and Hendry, and remaining at the top during the rise of current stars such as Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Judd Trump. And Higgins has had a notable rivalry with the last of that trio.
The Wizard of Wishaw has met Trump in two Crucible finals, with one victory apiece. The first was in 2011 when Trump was a flamboyant 21-year-old, producing a previously unseen brand of snooker. The pair entered the arena for the final session amid an extraordinary atmosphere. Eventually an emotional Higgins, who had lost his father earlier that year, prevailed 18-15. In 2019, Trump had his revenge when he prevailed 18-9 to win his first world title.
“Judd is the next guy coming through and he is expected to take the game on to his shoulders,” said Higgins. “He’s such an attacking player. I think I’ve brought the best out of Judd and he has brought the best out of me on multiple occasions. It is a game that I always relish, in the same way I do with Ronnie.
“I hope the World Championship win in 2011 isn’t my last one, but it might turn out to be. I don’t remember a lot in my career, but I do remember that entrance in the final. I don’t think there has been anything the scale of the noise there was that night. I won three other finals, they were great but not on that level. I don’t know what it was about that night in that auditorium. The snooker world was maybe on Judd’s side. He was such a young guy coming through. It was an incredible atmosphere and it was great to win.”
While he is still ranked among the world’s top ten despite being just 17 months away from his 50th birthday, Higgins has had to endure a series of painful defeats in recent seasons. He lost five finals during the 2021/22 campaign, and already this term he has lost two semi-finals against Trump by a 6-5 scoreline.
Higgins last picked up a ranking title at the 2021 Players Championship and he is desperate to end his silverware drought.
“I’m still hungry, I really am,” he said. “I’m playing well. I’ve just not been getting over the line lately, which you need to do in this sport. In the big moments, you need to take it. You need to grasp it and burst through that winning line. I’ve not managed to do that lately, but it is not for the want of trying. I really think I’m playing good stuff. People laugh, but I really don’t think I was as good a player 20 years ago as I am now. It is tough. I’m still enjoying the fight.
“The last win was a couple of years ago in the Covid times. I would dearly love to go in a big arena again and taste that winning feeling in front of the fans again. I suppose that is my goal right now and why I am putting the hours in. I would love to lift a trophy again.”
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