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 has also brought him a significant amount of wealth.
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 for the 1994/95 year. He won two additional ranking tournaments, and a final. 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 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 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 of the Championship du monde. In 2011, he won the second World Championship. He was also a finalist in the Chinese Open and Shanghai Masters. In 2009, he reached finals of the International Open Championship and the World Championship. He won the Ruhr Championship. In 2009, he was World number 1.
Higgins has also been a finalist in a number of non-ranking tournaments. Higgins has reached the final of several pro-am tournaments as well as variant finals. He was the only player to win all three opening tournaments in a season. He also became first player to earn a world ranking title and reach quarter-finals of a British Open event.
During his career, John Higgins has reached the final of eight World Championship tournaments. He has reached the finals at two Masters tournaments including a UK Championship, Welsh Open, and Grand Prix. He has been an 18-time runner-up.
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 detective chief supervisor, was the head of the disciplinary committee that investigated these allegations. Investigation revealed that Higgins had not been involved in the scandal. Higgins was subsequently suspended from professional competition and fined PS75,000. He was also fined PS75,000.
Higgins resumed work in November 2010, after his suspension. He reached the finals at the Shanghai Masters and Ruhr Championship. He also reached two other finals in the 2005/06 season. He finished the season fifth in the world. The World number one was replaced by Mark Williams, a Welshman. In 2013, he was ranked fifth worldwide, but he fell to 12th the following year.