John Higgins, a professional snooker player from Scotland, has won 19 titles in first ligue as well as cup of champions during a 19-year career. He has also earned a substantial fortune from his career.
Higgins began his professional snooker playing as an amateur. He had won a number of amateur tournaments before deciding to turn professional. Higgins became a professional and began winning ranking tournaments. 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 more ranking finals and one more tournament. He then became World number one for the first time. 1998 was his first major title. Ronnie O'Sullivan lost the World Championship final to him in 2001. He had also reached the final of the Grand Prix. He finished the season as the World number 1 for the first time.
Higgins defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan to win The Masters in 2006's final. He was also awarded the Welsh Open and 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 of the Championship du monde. He won his second World Championship in 2011, He was also a semifinalist in the Shanghai Masters, Chinese Open, and Shanghai Masters. In 2009, he reached the final of the International Open and the World Championship. He won the Ruhr championship. He was also the World number one in 2009 season.
Higgins has been a finalist in several non-ranking tournaments. Higgins has reached the final of several pro-am tournaments as well as 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 has reached final of eight World Championship tournaments in his career. He also reached the finals in two Masters tournaments: a UK Championship and a Welsh Open. He has been a winner 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 (ex-detailed chief superintendent of Metropolitan Police) investigated the allegations. An investigation revealed that Higgins was not involved in the scandal. Nonetheless, Higgins was suspended from professional competition for six months. He was also fined PS75,000.
After his suspension, Higgins resumed his professional career in November 2010. He reached the final of the Ruhr Championship and the Shanghai Masters. He also reached finals at two other events in the 2005/06 seasons. He finished the season fifth in the world. Mark Williams from Wales succeeded him as World number 1. He was ranked fifth globally in 2013, but he fell to the 12th spot in the rankings the next year.