John Higgins rides belated wave of success after fearing total wipe-out

Scot has known hard times and so tells Neil Goulding ahead of today’s UK Championship that he’s determined to make most of current high

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John Higgins is living proof that age is no barrier to success. In the case of the four-time world champion, neither is coping with a six-month ban or a period of severe loss of form. The 40-year-old Scot has arguably been the player of the season so far.

Higgins has won three titles this calendar year and heads into the UK Championship in York, starting today, confident of challenging for the £150,000 top prize.

Such occasions were once commonplace for one of most successful players of the modern era, For 16 consecutive seasons from 1996-97 to 2011-12, Higgins never fell below sixth in the world rankings and was world No 1 four times.

Yet the fact that he is now back as one of the favourites to win tournaments is a testament to his staying power and ability to bounce back from a number of difficulties .

His biggest setback came in 2010, when The News of the World carried out a sting operation in a hotel room in Ukraine, which claimed to show the player arranging to lose frames for money. An independent enquiry cleared Higgins of match-fixing allegations, but he was charged with bringing the sport into disrepute and accordingly banned for six months and fined £75,000.

He returned to win the 2010 UK Championship and then regained his world title in 2011. But then came the dispiriting slump in form: between 2012 and 2014 he only won the Shanghai Masters in 2012. His self-confidence started to be affected. “The longer it goes on [without winning], the more you start to doubt yourself and ask the question ‘can I do it again?’,” he says.

“You don’t think you can when it’s not going for you. That’s why winning tournaments still means so much. It certainly doesn’t get any easier the older you get. But you just have to keep believing.

“Throughout my career I’ve had lots of peaks and troughs, but it’s how you cope with those highs and lows. I’ve a lot of battle scars, but so have a lot of the top players. But experience definitely counts for a lot.

“There’s tournaments you can turn up to and you just expect to struggle because your game is not there,” Higgins admits. “But there’s other times when you just find your find form, get that bit of luck you need, and everything comes together. It’s a special feeling when that happens.”

When he won the International Championship in Daqing, China, last month, he picked up a handsome winner’s cheque of £125,000, his biggest pay day since winning his fourth Crucible crown in 2011.

More importantly – and significantly in Higgins’ career – victory in the Far East saw him claim his 28th ranking title, matching the tally of six-time world champion Steve Davis.

Davis was Higgins’ boyhood idol and now, having experienced the lows without success, he stands level with Davis as the second most successful player of all time. Only fellow Scot Stephen Hendry, who is now retired, stands ahead of them in the all-time list with a seemingly impregnable record of 36.

“Thankfully I’ve managed to keep that belief and it’s really shown in my results,” Higgins says. “Winning three titles in a calendar year is brilliant, it’s something I’m very proud of. I’ve just to enjoy it [this success] while it lasts. I’ve just got to see how far it can go and see if I can ride the wave. The pressure is off me in many respects because winning a couple of big tournaments puts you up on the rankings.

“The calendar is so busy these days you’re away a lot, but it’s a good thing because the tour was a shambles before [World Snooker chairman] Barry Hearn came in.

“Before, you were fighting for every pound and every point, but the [prize money] list gives you that little bit more breathing space to pick and choose what tournaments I play. I’ve got a family so it’s hard being away from them, but I’m also going to make the most of it [my career] while I’ve got this opportunity.”

And so, he is among the favourites to win in York and lift his fourth UK Championship title – a task made easier by the surprising decision of reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan not to defend his crown. Higgins starts his challenge against amateur Leo Fernandez today.

Of course not everybody will be in Higgins’ corner, but it really is difficult not to admire his undisputed talent – and his perseverence.

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Roll of honour - Higgins’ career wins

1998 World Snooker Championship

Beat Ken Doherty 18-12

1998 UK Championship

Beat Matthew Stevens 10-6

2000 UK Championship

Beat Mark Williams 10-4

2007 World Snooker Championship

Beat Mark Selby 18-13

2009 World Snooker Championship

Beat Shaun Murphy 18–9

2010 UK Championship

Beat Mark Williams 10-9

2011 World Snooker Championship

Beat Judd Trump 18–15

Wins this year:

Welsh Open, Australian Goldfields Open and the International Championship