Tímea Babos
Monday 29 August 2011
Snooker ~ John Higgins
John Higgins
17th November 2010
Current World Champion and four times Crucible King.
D.O.B. 18 May 1975
Lives Wishaw, Lanarkshire
Turned Pro 1992
Ranking Tournament Victories 24 - Grand Prix 1994, 1999, 2005, 2008; International 1995, 1996; British Open 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004; German Open 1995, 1997; European Open 1997; World Snooker Championship 1998, 2007, 2009, 2011; UK Championship 1998, 2000, 2010; China International 1999; Welsh Open 2000, 2010, 2011
Last season World Snooker Tour prize money £427,000
Highest Tournament Break 147 - five times
It is often said that no player can dominate snooker these days because there are so many good players, but Betfred.com World Champion John Higgins is making a decent fist of proving that theory wrong.
He won 18 of his last 19 matches in full ranking events at the end of the 2010/11 season, a campaign in which he captured the two biggest ranking titles in snooker.
Higgins missed the first few events of the season due to a ban for breaching betting regulations, but hit the ground running on his comeback by winning the Euro Players Tour Championship event in Hamm, Germany, beating Shaun Murphy 4-2 in the final. He also reached the final of the next EPTC event in Prague but lost to Michael Holt.
The Scot went on to win the 12BET.com UK Championship, beating Mark Williams 10-9 in an incredible final. He trailed 9-5 at one stage but fought his way back, crucially winning the 17th frame after needing a snooker on the yellow. "I just tried to stay focussed all week here and go about things my own way. I was determined not to let anything stop me from winning it," he said.
Higgins had to pull out of the German Masters due to the sad death of his father, John Snr, and it was an emotional moment when he returned to action at the Wyldecrest Welsh Open. Once again he kept his focus on the table and went all the way to the first prize, coming from 5-2 down in the final to beat Stephen Maguire 9-6.
His only ranking event defeat came against Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the Bank of Beijing China Open, and Higgins went to Sheffield determined to land the World title for the fourth time. Victories over Stephen Lee, Rory McLeod, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, put him into the final against young sensation Judd Trump.
Once again Higgins had to recover a deficit as he trailed 10-7 overnight, but snooker's version of the Terminator just can't be killed off. Inspired by an extraordinary atmosphere, he hit back to win 18-15.
"I want to get to seven world titles now, because I've won three in the last five years," said ambitious Higgins. "I've rededicated myself in recent years and I want to keep winning it. Since I came back in November I have won pretty much everything I have entered. It has been an ubelieveable six or seven months for me. I am scrapping for everything now; every point, every frame, every match."
The previous season had yielded just one title for Higgins - the Welsh Open which he took with a 9-4 final success over Ali Carter.
Higgins won his first World title in 1998 when he beat Ken Doherty 18-12 in the final, and his second in 2007 when he got the better of Mark Selby 18-13. His third came in 2009 when he beat the cream of the crop of snooker's emerging talent, knocking out Jamie Cope, Selby and Mark Allen before beating Shaun Murphy 18-9 in the final.
"To come through the matches with the standard put up by Cope, Selby and Allen, three of the best young players we have in the game, and to fight fire with fire when they played really well, to come through that gave me an enormous boost of confidence coming into the final," he said.
With a superb tactical game to go alongside his break-building class, he is considered alongside Steve Davis the best all-round players of the modern era.
Higgins has won 24 ranking titles in all, as well as the Masters twice. In the thrilling 2006 Masters final at Wembley he faced Ronnie O'Sullivan. Tied at 9-9, O'Sullivan opened the deciding frame with a break of 60 only for Higgins to clear the table with a brilliant 64 which included several do-or-die pots. "This win will stay with me for the rest of my days," he said.
Higgins has made five competitive 147 breaks, including two in consecutive matches - one in the 2003 LG Cup final and the next in the first round of the subsequent British Open.
His hobbies include watching football and playing golf. He enjoys gourmet food and cooking and appeared alongside Shaun Murphy on BBC show Ready Steady Cook.
He has also recently appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, showing off his knowledge of the TV soap Dallas, as well as winning £30,000 for charity on All Star Mr And Mrs.
He and wife Denise have young sons called Pierce and Oliver and a daughter called Claudia.
17th November 2010
Current World Champion and four times Crucible King.
D.O.B. 18 May 1975
Lives Wishaw, Lanarkshire
Turned Pro 1992
Ranking Tournament Victories 24 - Grand Prix 1994, 1999, 2005, 2008; International 1995, 1996; British Open 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004; German Open 1995, 1997; European Open 1997; World Snooker Championship 1998, 2007, 2009, 2011; UK Championship 1998, 2000, 2010; China International 1999; Welsh Open 2000, 2010, 2011
Last season World Snooker Tour prize money £427,000
Highest Tournament Break 147 - five times
It is often said that no player can dominate snooker these days because there are so many good players, but Betfred.com World Champion John Higgins is making a decent fist of proving that theory wrong.
He won 18 of his last 19 matches in full ranking events at the end of the 2010/11 season, a campaign in which he captured the two biggest ranking titles in snooker.
Higgins missed the first few events of the season due to a ban for breaching betting regulations, but hit the ground running on his comeback by winning the Euro Players Tour Championship event in Hamm, Germany, beating Shaun Murphy 4-2 in the final. He also reached the final of the next EPTC event in Prague but lost to Michael Holt.
The Scot went on to win the 12BET.com UK Championship, beating Mark Williams 10-9 in an incredible final. He trailed 9-5 at one stage but fought his way back, crucially winning the 17th frame after needing a snooker on the yellow. "I just tried to stay focussed all week here and go about things my own way. I was determined not to let anything stop me from winning it," he said.
Higgins had to pull out of the German Masters due to the sad death of his father, John Snr, and it was an emotional moment when he returned to action at the Wyldecrest Welsh Open. Once again he kept his focus on the table and went all the way to the first prize, coming from 5-2 down in the final to beat Stephen Maguire 9-6.
His only ranking event defeat came against Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the Bank of Beijing China Open, and Higgins went to Sheffield determined to land the World title for the fourth time. Victories over Stephen Lee, Rory McLeod, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams, put him into the final against young sensation Judd Trump.
Once again Higgins had to recover a deficit as he trailed 10-7 overnight, but snooker's version of the Terminator just can't be killed off. Inspired by an extraordinary atmosphere, he hit back to win 18-15.
"I want to get to seven world titles now, because I've won three in the last five years," said ambitious Higgins. "I've rededicated myself in recent years and I want to keep winning it. Since I came back in November I have won pretty much everything I have entered. It has been an ubelieveable six or seven months for me. I am scrapping for everything now; every point, every frame, every match."
The previous season had yielded just one title for Higgins - the Welsh Open which he took with a 9-4 final success over Ali Carter.
Higgins won his first World title in 1998 when he beat Ken Doherty 18-12 in the final, and his second in 2007 when he got the better of Mark Selby 18-13. His third came in 2009 when he beat the cream of the crop of snooker's emerging talent, knocking out Jamie Cope, Selby and Mark Allen before beating Shaun Murphy 18-9 in the final.
"To come through the matches with the standard put up by Cope, Selby and Allen, three of the best young players we have in the game, and to fight fire with fire when they played really well, to come through that gave me an enormous boost of confidence coming into the final," he said.
With a superb tactical game to go alongside his break-building class, he is considered alongside Steve Davis the best all-round players of the modern era.
Higgins has won 24 ranking titles in all, as well as the Masters twice. In the thrilling 2006 Masters final at Wembley he faced Ronnie O'Sullivan. Tied at 9-9, O'Sullivan opened the deciding frame with a break of 60 only for Higgins to clear the table with a brilliant 64 which included several do-or-die pots. "This win will stay with me for the rest of my days," he said.
Higgins has made five competitive 147 breaks, including two in consecutive matches - one in the 2003 LG Cup final and the next in the first round of the subsequent British Open.
His hobbies include watching football and playing golf. He enjoys gourmet food and cooking and appeared alongside Shaun Murphy on BBC show Ready Steady Cook.
He has also recently appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, showing off his knowledge of the TV soap Dallas, as well as winning £30,000 for charity on All Star Mr And Mrs.
He and wife Denise have young sons called Pierce and Oliver and a daughter called Claudia.
Snooker ~ Mark Williams
Mark Williams
05th December 2010
Double World Champion from South Wales.
D.O.B. 21 Mar 1975
Lives Ebbw Vale
Turned Pro 1992
Ranking Tournament Victories 18 - Welsh Open 1996, 1999; Grand Prix 1996, 2000; British Open 1997; Irish Open 1998; Thailand Masters 1999, 2000, 2002; UK Championship 1999, 2002; World Championship 2000, 2003; China Open 2002, 2006, 2010; LG Cup 2003; German Masters 2011
Last season World Snooker Tour prize money: £226,625
Highest Tournament Break 147 - World Championship 2005, PTC series 2010
Williams completed his remarkable rise back up the ranking list by finishing the 2010/11 season at No 1 in the world.
At one stage in late 2007 he fell as low as 47th on the provisional list, but his return to form must be considered one of the most spectacular in snooker history.
His 2010/11 season was highlighted by victory in the new German Masters, achieved with a 9-7 defeat of Mark Selby in the final in Berlin watched by a packed house of nearly 2,500 fans.
"I'm really happy with that win, it was a nerve-wracking experience, both in front of that unbelievable crowd," he said after winning his 18th ranking event in all and eighth overseas. "I think I get into a good mindset ahead of the overseas events, I know I'll have a long flight and lots of travelling and that doesn't affect me - and crucially I adapt to whatever conditions I find quickly."
The Welshman also reached the final of the 12BET.com UK Championship and looked set for the title when he led John Higgins 9-5, only for his opponent to fight back and win 10-9. And it was Higgins who proved his nemesis again at the Betfred.com World Championship, this time at the semi-final stage. Again Williams led 9-5, but could not pull away and Higgins recovered to win 17-14.
Williams also won the first ever Players Tour Championship event - beating Stephen Maguire 4-0 in the final - during a very successful season.
The previous season had seen Williams win his first ranking title in four years, beating Ding Junhui 10-6 in the final of the China Open.
Known for his awesome single-ball potting and exceptional touch, Williams first ruled the Crucible in 2000 when he became the only left-hander to win the world title.
He came from 13-7 down to beat fellow Welshman Matthew Stevens 18-16. His second world title followed three years later when he beat Ken Doherty by the same scoreline in another close final. That completed an incredible hat-trick of snooker's biggest titles as earlier that season he had won the UK Championship and the Masters.
He has won the Masters twice and his first Wembley crown came in dramatic circumstances in 1999 as the final against Hendry went down to a respotted black, Williams potting it to a baulk corner after Hendry had missed a chance to a centre pocket.
Williams made the first competitive 147 of his career in a match against Rob Milkins at Sheffield in 2005 - and that was handy timing as it scooped him a £161,000 bonus. He became the fifth player to make a maximum at the Crucible.
In 2004, Williams was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. "It is a tremendous honour for me, for Wales and for the game of snooker," he said.
In his teenage years, Williams was a keen boxer and won several fights before being on the wrong end of a thumping from an older, heavier boy which curtailed his brief career in the ring. His hobbies include playing golf and five-a-side football as well as driving exotic sports cars and motorbikes. He and wife Joanne have sons called Connor, born in 2004, and Kian, born in 2007.
Info by WiKiPedia
05th December 2010
Double World Champion from South Wales.
D.O.B. 21 Mar 1975
Lives Ebbw Vale
Turned Pro 1992
Ranking Tournament Victories 18 - Welsh Open 1996, 1999; Grand Prix 1996, 2000; British Open 1997; Irish Open 1998; Thailand Masters 1999, 2000, 2002; UK Championship 1999, 2002; World Championship 2000, 2003; China Open 2002, 2006, 2010; LG Cup 2003; German Masters 2011
Last season World Snooker Tour prize money: £226,625
Highest Tournament Break 147 - World Championship 2005, PTC series 2010
Williams completed his remarkable rise back up the ranking list by finishing the 2010/11 season at No 1 in the world.
At one stage in late 2007 he fell as low as 47th on the provisional list, but his return to form must be considered one of the most spectacular in snooker history.
His 2010/11 season was highlighted by victory in the new German Masters, achieved with a 9-7 defeat of Mark Selby in the final in Berlin watched by a packed house of nearly 2,500 fans.
"I'm really happy with that win, it was a nerve-wracking experience, both in front of that unbelievable crowd," he said after winning his 18th ranking event in all and eighth overseas. "I think I get into a good mindset ahead of the overseas events, I know I'll have a long flight and lots of travelling and that doesn't affect me - and crucially I adapt to whatever conditions I find quickly."
The Welshman also reached the final of the 12BET.com UK Championship and looked set for the title when he led John Higgins 9-5, only for his opponent to fight back and win 10-9. And it was Higgins who proved his nemesis again at the Betfred.com World Championship, this time at the semi-final stage. Again Williams led 9-5, but could not pull away and Higgins recovered to win 17-14.
Williams also won the first ever Players Tour Championship event - beating Stephen Maguire 4-0 in the final - during a very successful season.
The previous season had seen Williams win his first ranking title in four years, beating Ding Junhui 10-6 in the final of the China Open.
Known for his awesome single-ball potting and exceptional touch, Williams first ruled the Crucible in 2000 when he became the only left-hander to win the world title.
He came from 13-7 down to beat fellow Welshman Matthew Stevens 18-16. His second world title followed three years later when he beat Ken Doherty by the same scoreline in another close final. That completed an incredible hat-trick of snooker's biggest titles as earlier that season he had won the UK Championship and the Masters.
He has won the Masters twice and his first Wembley crown came in dramatic circumstances in 1999 as the final against Hendry went down to a respotted black, Williams potting it to a baulk corner after Hendry had missed a chance to a centre pocket.
Williams made the first competitive 147 of his career in a match against Rob Milkins at Sheffield in 2005 - and that was handy timing as it scooped him a £161,000 bonus. He became the fifth player to make a maximum at the Crucible.
In 2004, Williams was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. "It is a tremendous honour for me, for Wales and for the game of snooker," he said.
In his teenage years, Williams was a keen boxer and won several fights before being on the wrong end of a thumping from an older, heavier boy which curtailed his brief career in the ring. His hobbies include playing golf and five-a-side football as well as driving exotic sports cars and motorbikes. He and wife Joanne have sons called Connor, born in 2004, and Kian, born in 2007.
Info by WiKiPedia
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