On Tuesday afternoon he took action again as if nothing had happened. As always, John Higgins was announced to the audience by Rob Walker as the “Wizard of Wishaw”, with the master of ceremonies almost cracking his voice at the end. Higgins acknowledged it with a forced smile and took the stage at the Crucible Theater for the first session in his World Snooker Championship quarter-final against Kyren Wilson.
The evening before, the 48-year-old Scot had ensured a great moment in World Cup history and won 13:12 after being 11:12 behind in an exciting second round match against Northern Irishman Mark Allen. Above all, the all-important frame was unique; Eurosport commentator Rolf Kalb even spoke of perhaps the best clearance at a World Cup and a classic in Crucible history.
Higgins was already 0:62 behind when Allen reached for the help cue. Normally a routine shot, but what is routine in a situation that can be decisive for the match? And it happened like many times in snooker history: Allen missed and gave his opponent one last chance.
The chance wasn’t even particularly great. But Higgins didn’t have much to lose at this point and took full risk and sank his first ball over the long boards into the middle pocket. “I felt good and thought: I have to go for the double now,” Higgins later said on the BBC.
But his path to victory was to present another stumbling block. After a minimal positioning error, the angle on the last red was very steep. However, Higgins showed no nerves and was successful again. Snooker legend Stephen Hendry, a pundit for the BBC at the World Cup, spoke afterwards of “one of the best shots I have ever seen”.
I really think I still have it.
John Higgins after his win against Mark Allen
The rest was more or less an exhibition for Higgins and unlike Mark Allen before him, he didn’t wobble a bit. On black he won the frame and thus the match. Afterwards, all the relief left him. “I am beside myself with joy. I think I will only realize later that this was a very special clearance. I am proud of myself.”
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It’s clear that Mark Allen also played a part in Higgins’ comeback, and not just in the final frame. In the end, the Northern Irishman, who was also the favorite according to the world rankings, was already leading 10:7, but his opponent kept fighting back. “I can only blame myself. I had enough chances and just couldn’t take advantage of them,” said Allen after the thriller.
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Mal John Higgins was world champion: 1998, 2007, 2009, 2011
For the four-time world champion Higgins, reaching the quarter-finals had a nice side effect: He will remain in the top 16 of the world rankings in the coming season and will therefore be seeded for the finals of the really big tournaments (such as the World Cup). But he said he “didn’t think about it at all” on Monday evening.
A few weeks ago it sounded completely different to him. “It would be crazy if I fell so far behind in the ranking that I had to play qualifications. I haven’t had to do that since the beginning of my career,” he told SportsBoom.com in March. Looking ahead to the World Cup, he said at the time: “I hope my 2011 World Cup title isn’t my last, but it could well be that way.”
Now Higgins is still three more wins away from his fifth World Championship crown. He may still not be one of the top favorites in the tournament, but with successes like the one over Allen, his self-confidence is coming back. And a John Higgins in top form was always a tough opponent in the big matches. Or as he put it himself: “I really think I still have it.”