During a career that has spanned 19 years, Scottish professional snooker player John Higgins has won 19 titles in both first ligue and cup of champions. His career has also led to a considerable fortune.
Higgins started his professional snooker career as an amateur player. He was an amateur snooker player who had won several tournaments before becoming a professional. Higgins won ranking tournaments shortly after becoming a professional. He was also among the first players to win all three ranking tournaments during a single season.
Higgins' success continued into the 1994/95 seasons. He won two other ranking tournaments and a ranking semifinal. He became World number 1 for the first and only time. 1998 was his first major championship. Ronnie O'Sullivan lost the World Championship final to him in 2001. He was also in the Grand Prix final. He finished the season as the World number 1 for the first time.
Higgins played Ronnie O'Sullivan as a batsman during The Masters 2006. He also won both the Welsh Open, and the Scottish Masters. His fourth British Open title was won in 2004. In 2005, he reached the final of the European Championship. He was also a finalist in the Championship du monde. He won his second World Championship in 2011, He was also a finalist at the Shanghai Masters and Chinese Open. In 2009, he reached finals of the International Open Championship and the World Championship. He also won Ruhr Championship. He was also the World number one in 2009 season.
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 also the first to win three opening tournaments during a single season.
John Higgins made it to the final of eight World Championship tournaments over his career. He also reached the finals in two Masters tournaments: a UK Championship and a Welsh Open. He has been an 18-time runner-up.
Higgins' career was not without controversy. News of the World conducted an undercover operation in May 2010. It claimed that John Higgins, his manager, had organized matches in a tournament. A disciplinary committee headed by former Metropolitan Police detective chief superintendent David Douglas investigated the allegations. The investigation found that Higgins did not have any involvement in the scandal. Nonetheless, Higgins was suspended from professional competition for six months. Higgins was also fined PS75,000.
After his suspension, Higgins resumed his professional career in November 2010. He reached the finals of the Ruhr Championship as well as the Shanghai Masters. He reached two other finals during the 2005/06 season. He finished the season as the fifth-ranked man in the world. Mark Williams of Wales replaced him as the World number one. He was ranked fifth globally in 2013, but he fell to the 12th spot in the rankings the next year.