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 out as an amateur snooker player. Higgins had won many amateur tournaments before turning professional. Higgins began to win ranking tournaments once he became a professional. He was also first to win three ranking competitions in a season.
Higgins' success continued for the 1994/95 year. He won two more ranking finals and one more tournament. Then, he became the World number one. 1998 marked his first major title. In 2001, he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the World Championship. He also reached the Grand Prix final. He finished the season as the World number 1 for the first time.
During the 2006 season, Higgins batted Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of The Masters. He won the Welsh Open as well as 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 at the Championship du monde. In 2011, he won his second World Championship. He was also a finalist for the Shanghai Masters and Chinese Open. In 2009, he reached finals of the International Open Championship and the World Championship. He was also the winner of the Ruhr Champion. In the 2009 season, he was the World number one.
Higgins has been a finalist in several non-ranking tournaments. He has also reached the final of a number of pro-am tournaments and variant finals. 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 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' life was fraught with controversy. News of the World undercover team discovered that John Higgins' manager and John Higgins had set up matches in a tournament. David Douglas, former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent, investigated the allegations. An investigation revealed that Higgins was not involved in the scandal. Higgins, however, was removed from professional competition after six months. He was also fined PS75,000.
Higgins resumed professional work in November 2010 following his suspension. He reached the finals in the Shanghai Masters as well the Ruhr Champion. He reached two other finals during the 2005/06 season. He was fifth in the World at the conclusion of the season. He was then replaced as World number one by Welshman Mark Williams. He was ranked fifth globally in 2013, but he fell to the 12th spot in the rankings the next year.