john higgins

John Higgins, born on May 18, 1975, in Wishaw, Scotland, turned professional in 1992. His early career saw rapid ascent, becoming the first teenager to win three ranking events in a single season (1994/95), securing titles such as the Grand Prix, British Open, and International Open. This early success propelled him into the world’s top 16 within his first few seasons. He achieved his first World Championship in 1998, defeating Ken Doherty 18-12, and subsequently became the world number one. The following season, Higgins completed snooker’s ‘Triple Crown’ by winning both the UK Championship and the Masters.

Higgins is recognized for maintaining a high level of play over three decades, demonstrated by his 33 ranking titles, placing him third on the all-time list behind only Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan. He has held the world number one position on four separate occasions. Notable achievements include compiling his 776th career century break in December 2019, surpassing Hendry, and becoming only the third player to achieve over 1,000 competitive century breaks at the 2024 English Open. His career includes multiple memorable performances, such as his 2005 Grand Prix victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan, where he made four consecutive century breaks and scored 494 unanswered points.

Throughout his career, Higgins secured three additional World Championship titles in 2007, 2009, and 2011, solidifying his status as one of snooker’s elite players. Despite a six-month suspension in 2010 related to an incident with a tabloid newspaper, he returned to win his fourth world title and continued to compete at the highest level. In recent years, he reached three consecutive World Championship finals from 2017 to 2019 and secured two ranking titles in the 2024-25 season, the World Open and Tour Championship, marking a record 30-year span between his first and most recent ranking victories.