John Higgins, a Scottish professional snooker player, has won 19 titles over a career that spans 19 years. His career has also brought him a significant amount of wealth.
Higgins began his professional career playing snooker as an amateur player. He had won a number of amateur tournaments before deciding to turn professional. After becoming professional, Higgins began winning ranking tournaments. He was also the first participant to win three ranking tournaments in a single season.
Higgins' success continued for the 1994/95 year. He won two more ranking finals and one more tournament. He was then crowned World number 1. 1998 was his first major title. Ronnie O'Sullivan lost the World Championship final to him in 2001. He had also reached final of the Grand Prix. He was World number one at the end of the season for the first-time.
During the 2006 season, Higgins batted Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of The Masters. He also won the Welsh Open title and the Scottish Masters. 2004 was his fourth British Open title. In 2005, he reached final of the European Championship. He was also a finalist in the Championship du monde. In 2011, he was awarded his second World Championship. He was also a semifinalist in the Shanghai Masters, Chinese Open, and Shanghai Masters. In 2009, his finals at the International Open and World Championship were reached. He also won Ruhr Championship. He was also the World number one in 2009 season.
Higgins is also a finalist of a few non-ranking events. Higgins reached the finals of many pro-am and variant tournaments. He was also the first to win three opening tournaments during a single season.
John Higgins is a professional who has reached the final of eight World Championship tournaments. He has also reached the finals of two Masters tournaments, a UK Championship, a Welsh Open and a Grand Prix tournament. He has been 18 times a runner-up.
Higgins' life was fraught with controversy. News of the World carried out an undercover investigation in May 2010 to find that John Higgins was involved with a match-fixing operation. David Douglas (ex-detailed chief superintendent of Metropolitan Police) investigated the allegations. An investigation revealed that Higgins was not involved in the scandal. Higgins was still banned from professional competitions for six months. He was also fined PS75,000.
Higgins resumed his professional life in November 2010 after his suspension. He reached the finals of the Ruhr Championship as well as the Shanghai Masters. He reached two other finals during the 2005/06 season. He finished the season fifth in the world. Mark Williams, a Welshman, replaced him as World number 1 He was ranked fifth globally in 2013, but he fell to the 12th spot in the rankings the next year.