In the history of snooker, there are many people named Higgins. In the last century, there was a Higgins nicknamed "Hurricane". What is even more well-known to fans is the Scottish " wizard " - John Higgins .
Higgins showed his talents when he was young.
Higgins was born on May 18, 1975. He is one of the famous "Three Heroes of 1975" (the other two are Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams). The biggest difference between him and the other two is that his personality is not that outstanding. The biggest feeling that the Scots give fans is that he plays with a solid attitude and does not get angry easily or show off his personality.
In 1992, at the age of 17, Higgins entered the professional snooker field and officially turned professional. Just two years after he became a professional player, at the age of 19, he defeated Dave Harrold in the Grand Prix of that year and won his first career championship, which also made him the successor to "Billiards Emperor" Hender. The youngest Grand Prix winner after Leigh.
In 1995, Higgins, who had just entered the professional arena for only three years, won the championship trophy at the German Masters , the British Open and the International Open. It can be said that he became famous at a young age and showed his sharpness.
Full of honors He is the "Wizard" loved by fans
As we all know, Higgins's nickname is "Wizard", so why did "Wizard" get his name? In fact, the reason is very simple. Higgins controls the movement of the cue ball extremely accurately during the game, as if he has magical control, so he is called the "Wizard" by more and more fans.
From the time he turned professional in 1992 to today, he has spent 28 years in his career. During these 28 years, he has been all-powerful. He has won a total of 30 ranking championships, 4 world championships, and was the first player to achieve 1,000 wins. But the legend is not over yet, and he will create more amazing achievements in the future.
Higgins won the World Championship trophy for the first time in 1998. You must know that Hendry was extremely dominant at that time. Players like O'Sullivan and Mark Williams were very powerful at the time. Not enough to compete for the world championship. And Higgins "robbed" a world championship in that era, and his ability is beyond doubt.
Entering the 21st century, Hendry's dominance has gradually weakened, O'Sullivan has gradually become the leader, and Higgins still maintains a good condition. He first won the World Championship twice in 2007 and 2009. Entering the 10s, he won the championship again in 2011 and finished second in 2017, 2018 and 2019 for three consecutive years.
How difficult it is for a player to be at the top of a sport for 30 years, but Higgins did it. Now that we have entered the 2020s, Higgins's high level is still maintained , we really can't imagine how long he can maintain his peak condition.
In addition to being praised for his impressive results, another reason why he is loved by fans is that he likes to use his brain when playing and is a "tactical master". He rarely chooses aggressive and risky playing styles in games, but plays more conservatively and steadily. Perhaps it is his superb control of the cue ball and his calm and calm personality that enable him to always achieve good results.
In addition, he is also regarded as a "tactical master" by many fans. Higgins is a player who is good at playing against the wind. When playing with him, you can never think that you are ahead . He will never give up resistance. In the semi-finals of the 2019 World Championships, the peak duel between Higgins and Gilbert was regarded as a classic example of his reasonable use of tactics.
At that time, Higgins was trailing 6-10. In the first three stages of the game, his touch could be described as cold. But in the last stage, he resisted tenaciously and dragged the game into the deciding game, and won the first in the deciding game. After taking a 55-point lead, he decisively chose to defend when the opportunity was not good, and three high-quality defenses allowed him to directly reverse the game.
Photos of the 2019 World Championship finals
In the final, Higgins met Trump, who was gaining momentum. Facing an opponent 14 years younger than himself, Higgins seemed a little tired during the game and was beaten by his opponent. He broke 100 with 7 strokes and unfortunately lost the game with a big score of 8-19.
Although the state shown by both sides during the game was much inferior to Higgins, it is not easy for a veteran player who is nearly 50 years old to overcome many difficulties and finally reach the final.
The "match-fixing incident" nearly ended his career
The biggest scandal in Higgins' nearly 30-year career was the "match-fixing incident" in 2010. After his "soccer gambling case" was exposed, the snooker world showed a sensational performance, and major media around the world rushed to report the matter. Many fans are also worried about whether Higgins will be severely punished.
Screenshot of the leaked video of the "match-fixing incident"
In fact, the focus of this incident is mainly a video. The general content of the video is that Higgins and his agent met with people related to an underground gambling organization. After the video was made public, the British police began to investigate , the final result was that Higgins was framed by his agent and a reporter. In the end, Higgins was suspended for half a year, and his agent was permanently banned from getting involved in snooker affairs.
This incident was a huge blow to Higgins. He, who had always been loved by fans, suddenly fell into a scandal. Ranked No. 1 in the world at the time, his performance fluctuated slightly in the subsequent period, and the entire snooker world fell into an unprecedented crisis of trust.
Higgins later said about the incident: "I always remember the time when I was suspected of match-fixing. Everyone knew how much I loved snooker, and they also knew how serious I was when I played the game. . How could I match-fix for that little money? I admit that I said some bad words when I was threatened, and I also admit that I have made some mistakes. For example, I did not restrain my agent so that he I had no idea when making certain decisions. All in all, it was a sad thing that hurt me for a while." It can be seen that this incident was a huge blow to Higgins.
and O'Sullivan have been in love and fighting for decades
"Wizard" Higgins and " Rockets " O'Sullivan can be regarded as the two snooker players with the largest number of fans in the past ten years. They are both among the "Three Heroes of 75" "They have competed against each other many times in games, and apart from tit-for-tat on the court, the two are still very good friends.
Higgins and O'Sullivan
Relevant statistics show that Higgins and O'Sullivan have played against each other more than 70 times. Higgins has also used O'Sullivan's example to warn young players. He said: "The main reason why Ronnie can maintain his condition is because he works much harder than us."
And O'Sullivan often described Higgins as "the strongest opponent" and "the person who knows best at playing snooker".
Higgins also once expressed the hope that today's young players can learn more from O'Sullivan and learn from his spirit, because he believes that it is not easy to break into the world of snooker, and the only secret to victory is hard work and persistence. , there are absolutely no shortcuts.
Higgins and O'Sullivan
are both "good gentlemen" on and off the court. He is worth learning from all players.
Fans who are familiar with Higgins know that in addition to his steady playing style, his performance on the court will occasionally have conflicts with referees. , the audience joked. For example, at the 2020 Welsh Open , he proactively admitted a foul after hitting the ball, but the referee Poznova said that Higgins did not foul. Later, replays confirmed that Higgins did not foul.
In addition, he is also a very family-oriented player off the court. He often gathers with his family and friends. It can be said that he is a "good gentleman" both on and off the court.
It is no accident that Higgins has been among the top snooker players for nearly 30 years.His spirit of being good at using his brain, training seriously, and working hard is worth learning from all players.
wrote the article out of interest. The content in the article has been carefully confirmed. However, due to the age and incomplete information, some omissions or errors are inevitable. You are welcome to correct me. If you correctly point out the error and attach the reference address, you will be given 5 yuan in cash as a token of gratitude.
