John Higgins

If there was any doubt about Higgins position among the pantheon of snooker’s greatest ever players, it was banished in May 2009 as he won his third World Snooker Championship title.

The Wizard of Wishaw had already enjoyed the glint of silverware earlier in the season as he won the Grand Prix in Glasgow. Victories over Anthony Hamilton, Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui and rising star Judd Trump put him into the final at the SECC. He saw a 7-2 lead over Ryan Day virtually evaporate at 7-6, but held himself together to clinch a 9-7 victory. It was a notable occasion for Higgins and his family as, remarkably, it was the first time that he had won a ranking tournament on Scottish soil.

"I suppose it’s vanity," said Higgins as to what motivates him to continue his quest for titles. "A few years ago people talked about the big four of myself, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams. Now there are a lot of great new players and people say the big four is Ronnie, Mark Selby, Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy. I still think I’m good enough to be in that group and I hope people will think of me that way now.”

Higgins went on to reach the final of the China Open – helped by an extraordinary comeback from 4-0 down to beat Hamilton 5-4. Peter Ebdon denied him the trophy by coming out on top 10-8 in a tight struggle, but that left Higgins match sharp and ready for the challenge of the Crucible.

A tricky opening tie against Michael Holt was negotiated 10-5, but in the second round Higgins stood on the verge of defeat against up-and-comer Jamie Cope, who blasted his way into a 12-10 lead. The drama intensified as a fan fainted in the audience, not once but twice, and the players had to return to their dressing rooms while treatment was administered.

On the second occasion, at 12-12,Higgins was faced with a tough red to a centre pocket. He sensed a key moment in the tournament, and rose to the occasion by potting the red and making a match winning break of 80.

His quarter-final battle with Mark Selby was equally thrilling; Selby making five centuries only to finish on the losing side as Higgins came from 12-11 down to win the last two frames. “It’s my best win ever, definitely,” Higgins asserted after the match. “That shows how highly I regard Mark and his performance.”

In the semis he faced another explosive young star in Mark Allen, who gave Higgins the fright of his life by coming from 14-4 down to within three frames at 15-12; but again the Scot retained his composure to close out victory 17-13.

The final against Shaun Murphy turned out to be Higgins’ easiest match, especially after he had pulled away from 5-5 to lead 11-5 overnight. The closing stages seemed a formality as Higgins closed out an 18-9 triumph.

He became only the fourth player, after Hendry, Davis and O’Sullivan, to lift the famous trophy three times at the Crucible.

“To come through the matches with the standard put up by Cope, Selby and Allen, three of the best young players we have in the game, and to fight fire with fire when they played really well, to come through that gave me an enormous boost of confidence coming into the final,” he said. “Take away the money, to join three of the best players that have ever lived, to win it three times here at the Crucible means everything to me.”

Higgins won his first World title in 1998 when he beat Ken Doherty 18-12 in the final, and his second in 2007 when he got the better of Selby 18-13.

He has now won 20 ranking titles in all and, with a superb tactical game to go alongside his break-building class, he is considered alongside Steve Davis as one of the best all-round players of the modern era.

In the 2006 Grand Prix final against O’Sullivan, Higgins rolled in four consecutive centuries and scored 494 unanswered points – both records. Later in the same season, the two met again in the Masters final at Wembley. Tied at 9-9, O’Sullivan opened the deciding frame with a break of 60 only for Higgins to clear the table with a brilliant 64 which included several do-or-die pots. “This win will stay with me for the rest of my days,” he said.

Higgins has made five competitive 147 breaks, including two in consecutive matches – one in the 2003 LG Cup final and the next in the first round of the subsequent British Open.

A devoted fan of Celtic, Higgins’ other hobbies include playing golf and poker. He enjoys gourmet food and cooking and appeared alongside Shaun Murphy on BBC show Ready Steady Cook. He and wife Denise have young sons called Pierce and Oliver and a baby daughter called Claudia.