Snooker
Snooker Legend John Higgins: No Room for Selective Play in My Battle to Stay in the Top 16
Snooker legend John Higgins, determined to stay in the top 16, says he can't afford to be selective about tournaments. Unlike Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby, Higgins is focused on competing in all events to secure his ranking and avoid World Championship qualifiers
Image Credit: World Snooker Tour (WST)
Snooker legend John Higgins says he does not have the luxury of cherry-picking events if he wants to remain in the sport’s elite top 16.
Higgins Faces Tough Season to Stay in the Top 16
The four-time world champion boasts a proud 29-year unbroken spell in the upper echelon of the game.
But the 49-year-old needs as many ranking points as possible if he wants to ensure he does not have to go through qualifying for next year’s World Championship.
With more events than ever on the calendar, with thousands of miles of travelling to boot, other top players have skipped smaller tournaments in a bid to remain fresh.
Comparisons with O’Sullivan and Selby’s Selective Schedules
Ronnie O’Sullivan has regularly missed events over the years and snubbed SEVEN tournaments in the UK last season as he targeted the game’s biggest prizes.
Four-time world champion Mark Selby revealed he will go down that route this season to protect his mental health and get more enjoyment out of the game.
But with his top 16 place in jeopardy, the Scottish all-time great told SportsBoom.com: “I’ve not thought about picking and choosing this season.”
“In all honesty, I probably can’t afford to with where I am in the rankings.”
“If I want to play in the big events like the Masters and the World Championship, without qualifying, I’ll have to be competing in pretty much everything really.”
That’s my aim for this season, to still be in the 16 and qualify for the World Championship. That will basically mean I’ve done that my whole career which is a good achievement.
John Higgins
Saudi Arabia Masters Setback
A run at the mega-money Saudi Arabia Masters earlier this month would have allayed Higgins' fears of dropping out of the 16.
But the all-conquering Wizard of Wishaw was stunned in the last 32, which means he banked £20,000 in prize money but, almost more importantly, not ranking points.
Despite his disappointing early exit, Higgins reckons the country can become a powerhouse in the sport.
World Snooker Tour have a ten-year deal in place with the Kingdom for the tournament which has a hefty prize pot of £2.3million, only comparable to the World Championship.
Snooker’s Growth in Saudi Arabia and Beyond
The sport has experienced a big boom in China over the past two decades with many top players emerging from the country, and 31-time ranking-event winner Higgins added: “My time in Saudi was great. The people are so friendly and so welcoming. “
“I went to one of the academies and played young Ziyad [Alqabbani] who played Stan Moody. He’s a 14-year-old boy and it was good to see the young talent coming through.”
“I do enjoy seeing the talent that the young boys have got and seeing if they’ve got what it takes to be a professional.”
“There’s a young boy who’s nine, he’s Ziyad’s little brother. I watched him and he’s really good for someone of nine.”
“China is obviously a big market and there’s loads of young talent that comes through from there so it would be great to see that happen in the Middle East and that would be great for the sport.”
“This academy had over 30 tables, snooker, pool, Chinese pool. It had everything.”
Shane is a respected journalist who has covered a range of sports for a number of years.