John Higgins, a Scottish professional snooker player, has won 19 titles over a career that spans 19 years. His career has also led to a considerable fortune.
Higgins started his professional snooker career as an amateur player. Before turning professional, Higgins won a few amateur tournaments. Higgins started winning ranking tournaments after becoming a professional. Higgins also became the first person to win three ranking tourneys in one season.
Higgins' success continued during the 1994/95 season. He won two additional ranking tournaments, and a final. He became World number 1 for the first and only time. 1998 marked his first major title. Ronnie O'Sullivan beat him to the World Championship Finale in 2001. He also reached the Grand Prix final. He was World number one at the end of the season for the first-time.
Higgins was the one who batting Ronnie O'Sullivan at the final of The Masters during 2006. He also won the Welsh Open title and the Scottish Masters. His fourth British Open title was won in 2004. He reached the European Championship final in 2005. He was also a finalist at 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, his finals at the International Open and World Championship were reached. He won the Ruhr Championship. In 2009, he was World number 1.
Higgins was also a finalist at a variety of non-ranking tournaments. 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.
John Higgins is a professional who has reached the final of eight World Championship tournaments. He also reached the finals in two Masters tournaments: a UK Championship and a Welsh Open. He has been a runner up 18 times.
Higgins had a turbulent career. In May 2010, an undercover operation by News of the World alleged that John Higgins and his manager had fixed matches in a tournament. A disciplinary committee headed by former Metropolitan Police detective chief superintendent David Douglas investigated the allegations. An investigation revealed that Higgins was not involved in the scandal. Higgins was nevertheless suspended from professional competition for six month. He was also fined PS75,000.
Higgins resumed his professional life in November 2010 after his suspension. He reached both the final of Ruhr Championships and Shanghai Masters. He also reached two other finals in the 2005/06 season. He was ranked fifth worldwide at the end of the season. Mark Williams of Wales replaced him as the World number one. In 2013, he was ranked fifth worldwide, but he fell to 12th the following year.