John Higgins was a professional Scottish snooker player for 19 years. He has won 19 titles, including the cup of champions and first ligue. His career also netted him a large fortune.
Higgins started his professional career as an amateur snooker player. He had won a number of amateur tournaments before deciding to turn professional. Higgins became a professional and began winning ranking tournaments. He was also the first participant to win three ranking tournaments in a single season.
Higgins' success continued during the 1994/95 season. He won two more ranking finals and one more tournament. He became World number 1 for the first and only time. 1998 was his first major title. Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated him in the World Championship final in 2001. He also reached the Grand Prix final. He was the World number one in the season.
Higgins fought Ronnie O'Sullivan during the 2006 season. He also won both the Welsh Open, and the Scottish Masters. His fourth British Open title came in 2004. In 2005, he reached final of the European Championship. He was also a finalist for the Championship du monde. He won his second World Championship in 2011. He was also a finalist in the Chinese Open and Shanghai Masters. He reached the final of both the International Open as well as the World Championship in 2009. 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. He has also reached finals in a variety of pro-am tournaments. He was the first player ever to win three tournament openings in one season. He also became the first person to win a World Ranking title and reach the quarter-finals at a British Open tournament.
During his career, John Higgins has reached the final of eight World Championship tournaments. He reached the finals for two Masters tournaments, including a UK Championship tournament, a Welsh Open tournament, and a Grand Prix tournament. He has been a runner up 18 times.
Higgins's 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. Investigation revealed that Higgins had not been involved in the scandal. Nonetheless, Higgins was suspended from professional competition for six months. He was also fined PS75,000.
Higgins resumed his professional life in November 2010 after his suspension. He reached the finals in the Shanghai Masters as well the Ruhr Champion. He also reached two finals in 2005/06. He finished the season as the fifth-ranked man in the world. Mark Williams, a Welshman, replaced him as World number 1 He was ranked 5th in the world in 2013, but he dropped to 12th place in the rankings the year after that.