John Higgins, a professional snooker player from Scotland, has won 19 titles in first ligue as well as cup of champions during a 19-year career. His career also netted him a large fortune.
Higgins began his professional snooker playing as an amateur. Before turning professional, Higgins won a few amateur tournaments. Higgins began to win ranking tournaments once he became a professional. He was also the first participant to win three ranking tournaments in a single season.
Higgins' success continued into the 1994/95 seasons. He won two ranking tournaments more and a final. He became World number 1 for the first and only time. 1998 was his first major title. In 2001, he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the World Championship. He had also reached final of the Grand Prix. He finished the season at World number 1.
Higgins played Ronnie O'Sullivan as a batsman during The Masters 2006. He also won the Welsh Open and Scottish Masters. 2004 was his fourth British Open title. He reached the finals of the European Championship in 2005. He was also a finalist for the Championship du monde. He won his second World Championship in 2011, He was also a finalist for the Shanghai Masters and Chinese Open. In 2009, he reached the final of the International Open and the World Championship. He won the Ruhr championship. In the 2009 season, he was the World number one.
Higgins is also a finalist of a few non-ranking events. Higgins reached the finals of many pro-am and variant tournaments. He was the first player to win three opening tournaments in a single season and became the first player to win a world ranking title while reaching the quarter-finals of a British Open tournament.
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 a runner-up 18 times.
Higgins' career was not without controversy. An undercover operation conducted by News of the World in May 2010 alleged that John Higgins had arranged matches for a tournament with his manager. David Douglas (ex-detailed chief superintendent of Metropolitan Police) investigated the allegations. The investigation found that Higgins did not have any involvement in the scandal. Higgins was subsequently suspended from professional competition and fined PS75,000. He was also fined PS75,000.
Higgins returned to work in November 2010 after being suspended. He reached the finals in the Shanghai Masters as well the Ruhr Champion. He also reached two other finals in the 2005/06 season. He was ranked fifth worldwide at the end of the season. He was then replaced as World number one by Welshman Mark Williams. In 2013, he was ranked fifth worldwide, but he fell to 12th the following year.