John Higgins

John Higgins (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners. He has won four World Championships, three UK Championships and two Masters titles, for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, behind only four players. He first entered the top 16 in the 1995–96 world rankings and remained there continuously for over 29 years until September 2024, setting a record for the longest uninterrupted tenure as a top-16 player. He reached the world number one position four times.

In 1994 Higgins won his first ranking event at the 1994 Grand Prix. He also won two more ranking events that season, the first teenager to win three ranking events in a single season. Higgins won his first World Championship in 1998, defeating Ken Doherty in the final. He won the UK Championship twice, in 1998 and 2000, and the 1999 Masters, before reaching the world championship final again at the 2001 World Snooker Championship, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Higgins won the World Championship again in 2007 and 2009, the UK Championship in 2009 and 2010 and the Masters in 2006.