Snooker without Higgins will be a serious blow to snooker!

Career Overview

Higgins is considered to be the best competitive player. Higgins' outstanding and extraordinary skills have enabled him to win 20 ranking event titles, a number second only to Hendry, Davis and O'Sullivan. His career began in 1992 and he reached the peak of his career when he was only 23 years old. He defeated defending champion Ken Doherty in the final of the World Championships with a score of 18-12 to win the World Championships. The victory also elevated him to No. 1 in the world rankings, where he remained for two years. In 2001, he reached the final of the World Championships for the second time, but lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan with a score of 14-18. In 2007, he reached the final of the World Championship for the third time. This time his opponent was the young rookie Selby. Although there was no pressure, Selby chased the score to 10-12, which put huge pressure on Higgins. , but he withstood the pressure and defeated his opponent 18-13 in one go, lifting the World Championship trophy for the second time. In the 2009 World Championship, Higgins reached the final for the fourth time and defeated the 2005 World Championship champion Sean Murphy with an absolute advantage of 18-9, lifting the World Championship title at the Crucible for the third time. trophy, becoming the fourth player to win the Crucible three times. So far, Higgins has scored 147 points five times in a row, including two consecutive events, one was the LG Cup final in 2003, and the other was the first round of the British Open.

The "Scottish Wizard" went silent for three years from 2001 to 2004. He did not win a championship, and he began to doubt whether his career would slide to the end.

05-06 season

John Higgins performed a wonderful scene in the Greenwich Grand Prix final at the GUILD Hall in Preston. In the final against O'Sullivan, Higgins scored 4 consecutive hundreds, and scored an incredible score of 494 in total, and a new record was born. "Standing there, I just knew I wasn't going to drop the ball," Higgins said. "It's really unimaginable, I've never seen this happen," said a still bewildered O'Sullivan after the game. Higgins and O'Sullivan met again in the final of the SAGA Masters. The two men were equally capable and this wonderful match will be remembered for a long time. In the 18th game, they went tit for tat and once reached a 9-9 tie. In the deciding game, O'Sullivan started and scored 60 points in one stroke, but Higgins still scored 64 points to clear the table in the face of a very difficult situation. "This victory will stay in my memory for a long time," he said. "Beating Ronnie in the final and finishing with a clear finish in the last frame, I can't think of anything better than that." Higgins also entered the finals of some important competitions, but only missed the championship by a small margin. In the 2006 Malta Open, Higgins was leading 5-2 and was chased 8-5 by Doherty. He only lost an important red ball in the last game, resulting in a 9-8 defeat. . In the final of the China Open of the same year, Higgins had been leading, but in the most tense deciding game, he unfortunately lost to Mark Williams. Higgins ended the 2005-06 season with an unsatisfactory World Championship result. In the first round of the World Championships, he was defeated by rookie Selby 10-4. However, he is still ranked among the top 4 in the world.

06-07 season

When Higgins was upset 5-3 by Andrew Higginson in the first round of the Welsh Open before the end of the season, he felt like The entire 06-07 season, and even his career, was deteriorating. "I'm obviously not in form right now," he said. "Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan are not going to let the win slip away when they're 3-0 up. Maybe that's a great player versus a good player. The difference between them. I have encountered a technical bottleneck now, and I don’t know if I can find the problem and solve it. I think the only happy aspect for me now is that I played very well last season, but I was in trouble. Field capsized, so maybe it could be the other way around this time.” Then it became reality. Higgins had only reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship before, and although he staged a high-level duel with Peter Ebdon, he lost 7-9 in the end. But the Crucible will bring out the best in those competitive players. He started with easy wins over Michael Holt and Fergie O'Brien before proving he was close to his prime with a victory over O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, his training partner Stephen Maguire led 14-10, but then Higgins produced perhaps the greatest comeback of his career to win 17-15. In the final stage of the game, he also scored the 1,000th single-stroke century in Crucible history. On the first day of the final, Higgins leisurely led the dark horse Mark Selby 12-4. The fearless Selby tied the score to 10-12 on the second day, only two games behind Higgins. This puts Higgins under tremendous pressure.

But the "Scottish Wizard" finally showed his championship temperament and won four consecutive games at 14-13. A crucial 57-point clearing made the score 16-13, and then he played two more games with single shots of 122 and 78, and finally won the game 18-13 at 12:55 in the morning. After ending the long wait since 1998, Higgins finally lifted the world championship trophy again (only Alex Higgins with the same surname, the champion in 1972 and 1982, waited longer), joining the Among the teams that have won the snooker world's highest honor more than once. "It's been nine years since I last won a World Championship. "You might win two or three ranking events in a season, but if you do poorly at this event (World Championship) people don't think you have it. A successful season. ” He said, “You think you have a lot of time and advantage, but time will actually run away from you very quickly, and then other players will catch up with you in terms of rankings. So it's great to be back ranked number one in the world again. ”

07-08 season

Although Higgins won the World Championship again after nine years, his performance in the 2007-08 season was really poor. Able to enter the semi-finals of a ranking event. The Shanghai Masters was eliminated prematurely, and the Greenwich Grand Prix entered the quarterfinals, but lost to the famous Hong Kong player Fu Jiajun and missed the first extremely important invitational tournament in 2008 - Wen. In the first round of the Bulli Masters, he was eliminated by Ding Junhui with a 6-4 reversal. In the Malta Open in February, he advanced to the semi-finals through the group stage, but his opponent was the familiar Doherty. As a result, his condition suddenly dropped and he lost 2. -6 loss. Higgins entered the quarterfinals at both the Welsh Open and China Open, but was defeated by Mark Selby. If he could defend the World Championship, he would become Henry in 1996. The first person since Deli to do so looked good in the beginning, beating Stevens 10-5, but in the 16-8 match, Higgins lost 9-13 to Ryan. Dai.

08-09 season

The sharp and sharp wizard of John Higgins is back. In the first round of the season, Higgins defeated Gill. Bert, Liang Wenbo and Mike Couch entered the semi-finals, but 41-year-old England veteran David Harrold eliminated the two-time World Championship champion 6-4 and entered the Northern Ireland Cup. In the final, Higgins also made it possible for Harold to reach the final of a ranking event for the first time since 1994; the 2008 Royal London Watch and Clock Grand Prix came to an end at the Scottish Convention and Exhibition Center. After 16 rounds of fierce competition, Higgins won. After leading 5-2 in the first half, he finally defeated his old rival Ryan Day 9-7, avenging his elimination at this year's World Championships. He was crowned in the Grand Prix for the fourth time and tied the world championship. Hendry Grand Prix record of four championships. In addition, this is not only Higgins’ 19th ranking championship, but also his first ranking championship in his hometown of Scotland; Higgins also strives to win the ranking event in December. At the British Championships, he proved that he has not aged. He defeated "Pirate" Joe Swale with difficulty in the first round, and then swept the Chinese star Ding Junhui 9-4 in the 1/8 finals, although the latter had a difficult time. With a huge score of 147, he advanced to the top 8. Higgins was nicknamed the "Xiaohui Terminator" by fans due to his impressive record of 8 wins and 1 loss against Ding Junhui. But the result of the quarter-finals undoubtedly disappointed him. He felt regretful. In the civil war of the "Scottish Derby", Maguire, currently ranked second in the world, finally defeated this year's Grand Prix champion "Scottish Wizard" Higgins 9-7 and advanced to the semi-finals.

The 2009 World Snooker Championship

This is undoubtedly another glorious moment in Higgins' life. After defeating Holt 10:5 in the first round, Higgins faced two fierce battles in the second round. In the match against Jamie Kopp, Higgins was once behind 10:12, but Higgins tenaciously led the game into the deciding game. During this period, the game was interrupted due to the shock of the audience. The intensity of the game was evident. The deciding game The game was once again interrupted by spectator Huecker, and after returning from this break, Higgins scored a difficult red ball in the middle, and then scored 80 points in one shot, completing a shocking reversal! Higgins' opponent in the third round was Mark Selby. The latter broke 100 times five times in the whole game and took the lead in getting the match point with a score of 12:11. However, Higgins tenaciously won with a score of 113:4. The game dragged the game into the deciding game. The atmosphere in the deciding game was still tense and suffocating. After two restarts, Higgins forced Selby to make a mistake in saving the ball with a high-quality kick-off and left the ball behind. Opportunity, after fighting for this ball, Higgins never let Selby stand up again. A 75 ended the normal game. Higgins once again turned the tide. Later, this game was also rated by the World Taiwan Federation The best game of the 2009 season. In the semifinals against Mark Allen; Higgins established an absolute 13-3 advantage in the first two quarters, but the final score of 17-13 only allowed his opponent to counterattack for a while. Higgins, who was already in form, gave his final opponent Murphy almost no chance to counterattack 4-4, 7-1, 5-3 and 2-1. While winning his third World Championship, Higgins ’s single-season ranking also became No. 1. When the score settled at 18-9, the Crucible Theater was drowned in cheers. Higgins' childlike smile always hangs on his face.

Joining him in this great moment were his beautiful wife and three adorable children. This moment definitely belongs to the Higgins family! At the beginning of 2010, Higgins, who has many ranking championship trophies, did not win many in the Welsh Open. He had only one before, and that was in 2000. In this competition, he obviously wanted to change this situation. Faced with the encirclement of experts from all walks of life, he continued to pass the test, defeating Michael George, Dortmund and Selby by big scores in the first three rounds. After defeating O'Sullivan 6-4 in the semi-finals, Higgins cleared the biggest obstacle on his way to winning the championship and showed his majesty as a king. His opponent in the final was defending champion Carter. Last year, Carter won the championship after defeating "Pirate" Joe Swale in the final. It was the first ranking championship in his career. After coming to Forbidden City after a year, he played steadily and defeated masters such as Robertson and Maguire in the first few rounds. However, Higgins, an "all-around" player who even scared O'Sullivan, completely shattered his dream of defending the title in the last battle. It should be said that Carter was mentally prepared for the outcome of this game. After both sides entered the stadium, the game had not yet started. Facing the full audience, Carter frowned and looked around anxiously. Higgins, who was used to seeing final scenes, turned a blind eye to all this and made relevant preparations with ease. After the game started, Higgins' devastating attack caught Carter off guard. His performance in the first game was perfect, scoring 95 points and clearing the table with one stroke. In the second game, when Carter finally got a point, he made a mistake on the safety ball. For Higgins, who was in his prime, one mistake was enough. He once again staged a continuous offensive show, scoring 101 points in one shot and once again benching Carter. In the next game, Higgins continued to play highly efficiently, scoring 71 points in one shot and instantly putting Carter on the defensive. Carter gave up the game after making several unsuccessful snooker shots. Facing Carter, who had no power to fight back, Higgins became even more ruthless. After scoring the first goal in the fourth game, he never stopped again until he scored the last goal and the single score was fixed at 137 points. The first few rounds basically defeated Carter's fighting spirit, and there was not much suspense in the next game. After eight rounds in the first half, Higgins led 6-2, gaining an absolute advantage. Although Carter's condition improved significantly in the second half and he won two of the first three games, the situation was over. In the end, Higgins easily defeated him 9-4 and won the Welsh Open championship for the second time and the 21st time. Won the ranking championship trophy. With two strokes breaking 100 in 13 games, and eight single strokes of over 50 points, Higgins almost turned the final scene in Newport into a stage for his solo dance. After completing the final shot with high quality, he completed Newport's journey to become the king.

[Edit this paragraph] The origin of the nickname "Wizard"

This is a nickname given to him by a staff member because Higgins's cue ball movement is very accurate. Staff described his playing as magic, unpredictable but extremely accurate.

[Edit this paragraph] Style of play

John Higgins is known for his stable rhythm and precise positioning. Unlike many young players who advocate offense, John Higgins grasps the timing of offense and defense very well. When he was young, he was a late bloomer under the halo of Steve Hendry. After Hendry, he can be called a great player. One of the players also stems from his understanding of the sport of snooker. Due to Higgins' balance of offense and defense, his offensive firepower from the far end is not as brave as that of young players, but it should not be underestimated when he is in good condition. [1]

[Edit this paragraph] Married life

John Higgins is a die-hard fan of the Scottish Premier League Celtics. In addition, he also likes golf and poker. He loves food and likes to cook himself, and has demonstrated their cooking skills with Sean Murphy on the BBC program. He and his wife, Denise, have two boys and a girl. [2]

[Edit this paragraph] Medals of Honor received

At the end of 2007, he was awarded the British MBE (Member of Order), which is the Medal of Membership.

On March 12, 2009, he was officially awarded the British MBE, the British Royal Honorary Membership Order

[Edit this paragraph] Championship record

Ranking Championships: 21

Grand Prix 1994, 1999, 2005, 2008

UK Championship 1998, 2000

International 1995, 1996

British open 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004

German Open 1995, 1997

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European Open 1997

Regal China International 1999

Regal Welsh 2000, 2010

World Championship 1998, 2007, 2009

Non-ranking championship

Wembley Masters Cup 1999, 2006

[Edit this paragraph] Full Score Record

National Cup, January 21, 2000

Benson & Hedges Championship vs. James Wattana, March 24, 2000

The eleventh set of the LG Cup final on October 12, 2003

The fifth set of the first round of the British Open on November 12, 2003 against Michael Gaje

October 4, 2004 Grand Prix against Ricky Walton

[Edit this paragraph] Incomplete record of the fight between Higgins and O'Sullivan

O'Sullivan For the first time, he claimed that the only person who can pose a threat to him in today's snooker world is the wizard Higgins. The snooker game is a stage for him and the "wizard" Higgins, and the championship will be between them. produce. The Rockets' remarks are not only an affirmation of Higgins' ability. From a perspective, O'Sullivan is not sure of victory when playing against Higgins. Whether it is from the heart or from the past record, Higgins has a considerable advantage. In the 2009 China Games, O'Sullivan and Higgins staged a peak showdown in the quarter-finals. Although the game was ugly, Higgins finally defeated O'Sullivan

Before the 2009 China Games, Higgins Si said in an interview that although O'Sullivan is the world's number one, the Rockets are not sure of defeating him. When the Rockets heard Higgins's remarks, they just smiled and perfunctory and did not make a positive statement. response. In the end, this strong dialogue ended with Higgins' victory. He used practical actions to tell everyone that O'Sullivan's vision was right and that he indeed had the strength to defeat the Rockets.

The following is an incomplete record of the fight between the two "enemies"

94DC1/8 O'Sullivan 5:1 Higgins

94GP1/4 Higgins 5:0 O'Sullivan

95WO1/4 Higgins 5:4 O'Sullivan

95 final O'Sullivan 9:3 Higgins

95BO final Higgins 9:6 O'Sullivan

95SM1/4 O'Sullivan 6:5 Higgins

96C final O'Sullivan 9:6 Higgins

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96TO1/8 Higgins 5:3 O'Sullivan

96BO1/2 Higgins 6:4 O'Sullivan

96WC1/4 O'Sullivan 13 :12 Higgins

97IM1/4 O'Sullivan 6:4 Higgins

97SM1/4 Higgins 6:2 O'Sullivan

97GO1/2 Higgins 6:4 O'Sullivan

98SO final O'Sullivan 9:5 Higgins

98C final Higgins 9:8 O'Sullivan

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98IM1/2 O'Sullivan 6:4 Higgins

98WC1/2 Higgins 17:9 O'Sullivan

98SM final O'Sullivan 9: 7 Higgins

Higgins 9:4 O'Sullivan in the 99C final

99BO1/4 O'Sullivan 5:1 Higgins

99GP1/ 4 Higgins 5:3 O'Sullivan

00IM1/2 Higgins 6:3 O'Sullivan

00PLG O'Sullivan 5:3 Higgins

00CG O'Sullivan 5:4 Higgins

00SM1/4 O'Sullivan 6:4 Higgins

01WC final O'Sullivan 18:14 Higgins

01PLG Higgins 4:4 O'Sullivan

01PL1/2 O'Sullivan 6:3 Higgins

01SM final Higgins 9: 6 O'Sullivan

02PLG O'Sullivan 5:3 Higgins

02PL final O'Sullivan 9:4 Higgins

02SM final Osha Levin 9: 4 Higgins

03IM final O'Sullivan 10:9 Higgins

03PLG O'Sullivan 5:3 Higgins

05M O'Sullivan in the final 10:3 Higgins

Higgins 9:2 O'Sullivan in the 05GP final

Higgins 10:9 O'Sullivan in the 06M final

07WC1/4 Higgins 13:9 O'Sullivan

07PLG O'Sullivan 5:1 Higgins

07PL final O'Sullivan 7:4 Higgins

08PLG O'Sullivan 3: 3 Higgins

09CO1/4 Higgins 5: 4 O'Sullivan

09SM1/2 O'Sullivan 6 :1 Higgins

09GP1/8 Higgins 5:4 O'Sullivan

09PLG Higgins 4:2 O'Sullivan

09UKC1/ 2 Higgins 9: 8 O'Sullivan

10WO1/2 Higgins 6:4 O'Sullivan

[Edit this paragraph] World rankings in the past five years

No. 1 in 2010; No. 4 in 2009; No. 5 in 2008; No. 1 in 2007; No. 4 in 2006; No. 6 in 2005.

[Edit this paragraph] John Higgins’ journey to China

February 1999

First round John Higgins (Scotland) 5-4 Jamie Burnett ( Scotland)

Second round John Higgins (Scotland) 5-0 Matthew Stevens (Wales)

Quarter-final John Higgins (Scotland) 5-2 Paul Davies (Wales)< /p>

Semi-final John Higgins (Scotland) 6-4 Alan McManus (Scotland)

Final John Higgins (Scotland) 9-3 Billy Snaddon (Scotland)

1999 December 2001

Qualifying round 5 (final round) Peter Lines 5-1 John Higgins (Scotland)

2001

First round Bradley Jones 5-2 John Higgins (Scotland)

2002

First round John Higgins (Scotland) 5-1 John Parrott

Second round John Higgins (Scotland) 5-2 Dave Harold

Quarter-final John Higgins (Scotland) 5-4 Darren Morgan (Wales)

Semi-final Mark J Williams (Wales) 6-2 John Higgins (Scotland)

2005

First round John Higgins (Scotland) 5-1 Tom Ford

Second round Alan McManus (Scotland) 5 -2 John Higgins (Scotland)

2006

First round John Higgins (Scotland) 5-4 Stuart Bingham

Second round John Higgins (Scotland) ) 5-0 Peter Ebdon

Quarter-final John Higgins (Scotland) 5-2 Joe Perry

Semi-final John Higgins (Scotland) 6-2 Ken Doherty (Ireland)< /p>

Final Mark J Williams (Wales) 9-8 John Higgins (Scotland)

2007 China Open

First round Higgins 5-2 Mike Lowe Qi

Higgins 5-1 Jimmy White in the second round

Higgins 2-5 Dortmund in the third round

2007 Shanghai Masters

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Higgins 5-3 Kopp in the first round

Higgins 3-5 Selby in the second round

2008 China Open

Higgins 5-4 Swale in the first round

Higgins 5-1 Mark King in the second round

Higgins 2-5 in the third round Erby

2008 Shanghai Masters

Higgins 5-4 Ford in the first round

Higgins 3-5 Ryan Day in the second round

2009 China Open

Higgins 5-4 Hamilton in the first round

Higgins 5-2 Tian Pengfei in the second round

< p>Higgins 5-4 O'Sullivan in the third round

Higgins 6-4 Ryan Day in the semi-final

Higgins 8-10 Alberton in the final< /p>

2009 Shanghai Masters

Higgins 5-2 Celtic in the first round

Higgins 5-1 Williams in the second round

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Higgins 5-1 Dai in the third round

Higgins 1-6 O'Sullivan in the semi-final

2010 China Open

Higgins 5-3 O'Brien in the first round

Higgins 2-5 Williams in the second round

[Edit this paragraph] Involved in bribery and betting< /p>

Introduction

Betting video On May 2, 2010, the Times reported that Higgins, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, was revealed to have agreed to lose four games in exchange for 300,000 euros, equivalent to a bribe of more than 2.7 million yuan.

The British "News of the World" claimed that it had obtained video footage of Higgins and his agent Mooney discussing ways to cover up the bribes received in Ukraine, but it also stated that there is currently no evidence that Higgins Si has lost on purpose.

The International Taiwan Federation also issued a statement that it will conduct a serious investigation, and any wrongdoing will be severely dealt with. Higgins' agent, Pat Mooney, is a member of the International Taiwan Federation's board of directors, and Pat Mooney has submitted his resignation and was accepted. International Taiwan Federation President Parry Hearn said his resignation had been accepted with immediate effect.

Higgins and Davis are currently ranked number one in the world. Higgins is suspended. Hearn said: "Higgins will be suspended from participating in all competitions of the International Taiwan Federation. The International Taiwan Federation will An investigation was immediately launched into the "betting" matter, and Higgins will not be allowed to compete until the results are known. After what happened, I can't find any reason for him to continue to participate in the game."[3]

< p>Higgins issued a statement in which Higgins claimed that his conscience was "100% clean." The full text of the statement is as follows: I can say that I have never been involved in any form of match-fixing. , I have never intentionally missed a ball in my 18-year career, and I have never intentionally lost any round or even a game.

To be honest, I was very worried about what happened after this conversation in Kiev, and I was very scared when it was thought that I deliberately lost some games in order to get a lot of money. I just wanted to get out of that hotel, go to the airport, and go home. [4]

Statement

On May 2, 2010, Higgins issued a statement in which Higgins claimed that his conscience was "100% clean" . The full text of the statement is as follows:

“I can say that I have never been involved in any form of match-fixing. I have never intentionally missed a ball in my 18-year career, and I have never intentionally missed a ball. I have never lost a game or even a game. I am very worried about what happened after this conversation in Kiev, and I am very scared when it is thought that I have deliberately lost some games in order to get a lot of money. I just wanted to get out of that hotel, go to the airport, and go home. I didn't know if we were talking to the Russian mafia or whoever it was, and I thought the best thing to do in that situation was to pretend to be with these guys. Agreement and get out of there."

Impact

After hearing the news, the World Taiwan Federation immediately stated that it would investigate Higgins' bribery incident, and during this period Higgins would be banned from participating in the International Taiwan Federation. All games of the federation

According to Hearn, the federation's decision to suspend Higgins is intended to send a message to professional golfers that the governing body will not tolerate behavior that undermines the authenticity of the game. Any player found guilty of manipulating the outcome of a match will face a "very lengthy" ban.

After the video was exposed, Mooney announced his resignation from the World Snooker Federation.

Evaluation

On May 3, 2010, after the scandal of Higgins receiving money to fix matches was revealed, Taiwanese veteran Steve Davis violently rebuked him in front of the media. Higgins' behavior, he said: "This is the darkest day I have ever encountered in the snooker world. I have exchanged views with Ken Doherty, John Parrott and others, and we all agree that the entire It is a very bad day for snooker to be questioned because of him. The image of snooker as a refined gentleman has also been ruined by the scandal of Higgins."

In "News of the World". 》After the exclusive news revealed that Higgins was involved in the match-fixing scandal, many netizens responded immediately. The first netizen to leave a message seemed merciless: "John, you have no shame, you are really a complete hypocrite." Another netizen left a very sad message: "John, you have brought shame to this sport and shame to Scotland. , bring shame to the Celtic family, you idiot.

”