JOHN HIGGINS admits he is struggling for motivation to play professional snooker, saying: ‘It’s tough when you’ve worked in a dark room for 40-odd years.’
On the table, the Scotsman opened up his Wuhan Open campaign with a 5-1 round-one thrashing of Welshman Dylan Emery, hitting breaks of 79, 50, 54 and 80.
GettyJohn Higgins admits he’s ‘struggling’ at the Wuhan Open[/caption]
Off the table, the four-time snooker world champion has lost his mojo following a wonderful 50th birthday holiday to Dallas to see the grassy knoll from where US President John F. Kennedy was shot.
The Wizard of Wishaw reckons he should have skipped this ranking event in China and will take at least a month off when he gets home to the UK.
Higgins – who plays China’s Yuan Sijun in round two – said: “I’m struggling. Struggling with motivation.
“It’s after the big high that I had for my birthday, going to Dallas and different things. I’m really struggling for motivation. I really am.
“I’ll play this event and then take a month off and then see where I am at. I don’t know if I should have come to this event.
“I’m struggling with my technique. That’s just all down to me not putting hours in.
“My technique is really all over the place. I’m just one of the guys that I need to be on it — or I need to feel as if I’m on it.
“Maybe play at least a couple of hours a day. But I’m struggling to put half an hour in. And at this level you cannot mix it with the best players.
“Who knows what to do? Because there’s not many players that have got to this stage of their career and are still competing.
“Still going over and over and over the same things. It’s tough.
“I’ve always said there are a lot worse things happening in the world. There’s a lot of other jobs that people are doing now that they’d bite the hand off you.
“So, I’m always conscious of that. But just now it’s just tough.
“I’m hoping it will change. As you get older, it’s putting the effort on the practice table. You’ve been in a dark room for 40-odd years. It’s tough.
“Hopefully I’ll come back refreshed and re-energised and with a better mindset. But right now, everything’s just quite, quite down.”
I’m struggling to put half an hour in. And at this level you cannot mix it with the best players.
John Higgins
Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh hit a 147 to close out his 5-1 win over China’s Pang Junxu on day two of the competition.
It is the sixth of his career and the tournament’s second maximum in successive days after Xiao Guodong’s perfect frame on Sunday.
Word No.2 Kyren Wilson was beaten 5-2 by Irish world’s No.47 Aaron Hill while Halifax’s Stan Moody, 18, beat Chinese potting godfather Ding Junhui 5-3.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
1969 – John Spencer
1970 – Ray Reardon
1971 – John Spencer
1972 – Alex Higgins
1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
1977 – John Spencer (2)
1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
1979 – Terry Griffiths
1980 – Cliff Thorburn
1981 – Steve Davis
1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
1983 – Steve Davis (2)
1984 – Steve Davis (3)
1985 – Dennis Taylor
1986 – Joe Johnson
1987 – Steve Davis (4)
1988 – Steve Davis (5)
1989 – Steve Davis (6)
1990 – Stephen Hendry
1991 – John Parrott
1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
1997 – Ken Doherty
1998 – John Higgins
1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
2000 – Mark Williams
2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2002 – Peter Ebdon
2003 – Mark Williams (2)
2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
2005 – Shaun Murphy
2006 – Graeme Dott
2007 – John Higgins (2)
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
2009 – John Higgins (3)
2010 – Neil Robertson
2011 – John Higgins (4)
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
2014 – Mark Selby
2015 – Stuart Bingham
2016 – Mark Selby (2)
2017 – Mark Selby (3)
2018 – Mark Williams (3)
2019 – Judd Trump
2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
2021 – Mark Selby (4)
2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
2023 – Luca Brecel
2024 – Kyren Wilson
2025 – Zhao Xintong
Most World Titles (modern era)
7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
2 – Alex Higgins
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