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 began his professional career playing snooker as an amateur player. He was an amateur snooker player who had won several tournaments before becoming a professional. After becoming professional, Higgins began winning ranking tournaments. Higgins was also the first player to win three ranking tournaments within a single season.
Higgins' success continued for the 1994/95 year. 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 beat him to the World Championship Finale in 2001. He was also in the Grand Prix final. He was the World number one in the season.
Higgins played Ronnie O'Sullivan as a batsman during The Masters 2006. He also won the Welsh Open and Scottish Masters. His fourth British Open title was won in 2004. In 2005, he reached final of the European Championship. He was also a finalist at Championship du Monde. In 2011, he won the second World Championship. He was also a finalist of the Shanghai Masters Open. In 2009, he reached both the final of the International Open or the World Championship. He was also the winner of the Ruhr Champion. He was World number one for the 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 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.
John Higgins reached the finals of eight World Championship tournaments during his career. He has also reached the finals of two Masters tournaments, a UK Championship, a Welsh Open and a Grand Prix tournament. He has been 18 times a runner-up.
Higgins' life was fraught with controversy. In May 2010, an undercover operation by News of the World alleged that John Higgins and his manager had fixed matches in a tournament. The allegations were investigated by David Douglas, former chief superintendent of Metropolitan Police Detectives. The investigation determined that Higgins didn't have any involvement in this scandal. Higgins was nevertheless suspended from professional competition for six month. He was also fined PS75,000.
Higgins resumed professional work in November 2010 following his suspension. He reached the finals in the Shanghai Masters as well the Ruhr Champion. He also reached two finals in 2005/06. He finished the season fifth in the world. The World number one was replaced by Mark Williams, a Welshman. He was ranked fifth globally in 2013, but he fell to the 12th spot in the rankings the next year.