 John Higgins celebrated his 48th birthday in May this year but the four-time world champion believes he still has big titles left in him before he hangs up his cue. The Wizard of Wishaw has been a force at the top of snooker pretty much since turning professional in 1992 as he won his first ranking event in 1994 and entered the world's top 16 a year later, never falling out since then. Four world titles, three UK Championships and two Masters crowns have been collected over the years and the Scot remains ranked number nine in the world as the 2023/24 season begins. However, Higgins has won just one ranking title since 2018, when he turned in a spectacular performance to win the Players Championship in 2021. He showed then that he can still produce snooker as good as anyone, while he has also been to seven more ranking finals over the last five years, but doubts have emerged over his reliability in getting over the line, as evidence by those seven final defeats. Higgins does not think his days of claiming major titles are over, though, and while he is not sure where that belief is coming from, it is very much still there. Asked if he still believes he's got a big one in him, Higgins told the Talking Snooker podcast: 'I do, I do. I don't know if that's just…I don't know…but I really think I've got some big ones still left in me. 'I hope I do. The subconscious is a massive thing, I think, and I really am finding it tough to pick that cue out of that case just now. I don't know what it is.' Higgins admits that he has been struggling for motivation to get back on the practice table this summer, but he knows he will have to find it if he wants to keep up his epic run of being in the top 16, dating back to '95. 'It's a massive year for myself coming up because I'm going to really have to have a good year to maybe even qualify for the Crucible as a seed,' he said. 'I could){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
John Higgins celebrated his 48th birthday in May this year but the four-time world champion believes he still has big titles left in him before he hangs up his cue.
The Wizard of Wishaw has been a force at the top of snooker pretty much since turning professional in 1992 as he won his first ranking event in 1994 and entered the world’s top 16 a year later, never falling out since then.
Four world titles, three UK Championships and two Masters crowns have been collected over the years and the Scot remains ranked number nine in the world as the 2023/24 season begins.
However, Higgins has won just one ranking title since 2018, when he turned in a spectacular performance to win the Players Championship in 2021.