Mind-blowing John Higgins response after Mark Allen's 'sad' comment and retirement threat
Four-time world snooker champion John Higgins bowed out of the Crucible following defeat to Mark Williams, but he has proved one of his doubters wrong nonetheless
Snooker icon John Higgins has been playing like a man possessed since Mark Allen suggested he was "sad" watching 'The Wizard of Wishaw' struggle for results.
Allen made the comment after beating one of snooker 's greatest servants in the first round of the 2024 Masters, at which point Higgins was three years removed from his most recent ranking title. The 49-year-old Scot ended that drought this past March when he beat Joe O'Connor to clinch the World Open title.
And although his 2025 World Snooker Championship ended with a quarter-final defeat to Mark Williams on Wednesday, his displays in Sheffield have proved he's not to be discounted just yet.
"I know that John had his chances and I feel for John. Not out there I didn't, I wanted him to miss every shot he played, but I feel for him now," said Allen almost 18 months ago. "He's a really good guy, and he looks like someone who is just struggling to get over the line. If he just believed in himself a bit more, he'd be winning tournaments again."
While those remarks may have been intended as encouragement towards his peer, it wasn't long after that there was talk of Higgins retiring from the sport. And the veteran himself appeared to hint at a permanent exit after losing to Allen once more at the 2024 Tour Championship, just a few months after his rival's "sad" comments.
"I've always said to myself I'd love to still be a seed and in the top 16 competing at the Masters when I'm 50," said the Scot, who will turn 50 in May. "Staying in that bracket throughout my whole career would be a good milestone.
"If I reach that one, then I'll maybe be looking to see where my life is at that moment. Not my snooker life but my personal one."
Fast forward to today, however, and it's evident Higgins' place is on the World Snooker Tour competing with the best in the business. The finest of margins kept him from reaching a 12th World Championship semi-final after a clutch miss on the blue saw him succumb 13-12 to Williams.
Despite the end result, the performance was the latest in a list of impressive showings this season. And there appears to be at least some overlap between Allen's pointed remark on Higgins' confidence and the recent pick-up in his play.
It wasn't long after his win at the World Open that Higgins followed up with another major win at this year's Tour Championship at the beginning of April. In fact, the Lanarkshire legend has made it to at least the last eight of the last five consecutive ranking tournaments.
As well as Allen's comment possibly acting as motivation in itself, it seems too coincidental that results have picked up for Higgins in the year or so since he started consulting a sports psychologist. It was at the start of 2024 that The Wizard of Wishaw revealed he was receiving aid on the mental side of his game to dispel some "negative thoughts".
"I'm speaking to someone because there has been negative thoughts," he told Metro in February last year. "There's no beating about the bush, obviously in the last week while I've lost some big matches, and they would always surface, every time, so I'm trying to speak to someone about that, having more positive thoughts and who knows?"
The snooker world at large now has at least some idea following his pick-up in results this season. Ronnie O'Sullivan is another firm advocate for employing a mentality coach after his work with Dr. Steve Peters, with 'The Rocket' on the verge of reaching the World Championship semis himself.
"I've had a good season, the atmosphere out there was incredible, a standing ovation walking in," Higgins told the BBC following his agonising defeat to Williams, choosing to focus on the positives of the day. "There's no better place to play, win or lose."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
8 hours ago
- Scotsman
Bob MacIntyre digs deep after finding back against wall in Canadian Open title defence
Scot picks up two late birdies to avoid early exit at TPC Toronto and maintain recent PGA Tour momentum Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Bob MacIntyre dug deep to stop his RBC Canadian Open title defence from ending prematurely after finding himself below the projected cut line in the second round in Ontario. The Oban man had started the day in joint-ninth, just four shots off the overnight lead, after carding a bogey-free five-under-par 65 in the opening circuit on the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad After opening with a birdie from 11 feet at the par-4 tenth, MacIntyre looked as though he was set to take up where he'd left off on Thursday only to quickly find himself on the back foot. Bob MacIntyre reacts to a missed putt during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ontario |His tee shot at the par-3 11th found the water, leading to a double bogey and, for the next couple of hours, it turned into a tough struggle for the Scot. He also dropped a shot at the par-5 18th then the second and third as well and, at that point in his round, was facing an early exit after slipping to one under for the tournament. Not for the first time recently, though, MacIntyre showed that he can rise to the challenge when his back is against the wall. He rolled in a 20-footer for a birdie-3 at the par-4 fifth then hit his tee shot at the 220-yard par-3 seventh to five feet. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He found sand off the tee at the ninth then was just off the green with his approach but got up and down to save par, signing for a two-over 72 to sit on three under. It wasn't what he'd have been looking for setting out but, on the plus side and a potential big one at that, the left-hander avoided what would have been a big disappointment heading into next week's 125th US Open at Oakmont. On the back of two encouraging performances in the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial Tournament, he's up to 12th on Europe's Ryder Cup points list and, importantly in his bid to make Luke Donald's team again after being part of a winning side in Rome in 2023, can now maintain his momentum. Shane Lowry, who was playing in the same group as MacIntyre, followed his opening 64 with a 68 to sit on eight under, four shots behind clubhouse leader after the American added a 66 to his first-day 62. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Former Dunhill Links champion Ryan Fox, who recently landed his maiden breakthrough win on the PGA Tour, is heading into the weekend alongside Lowry after carding a brace of 66s. Connor Syme weighs up a shot with caddie Ryan McGuigan in the tough second-round conditions in the Netherlands |On the DP World Tour, meanwhile, breaking par proved a tough task in windy conditions for the second round of the KLM Open at The International in Amsterdam, where play was halted for more than two hours in the middle of the afternoon. After carding a splendid 68, Swede Joakim Lagergren posted the clubhouse target with an eight-under total, with Connor Syme just three behind after battling to the bitter end for his 72. The Drumoig-player holed a six-footer for a bogey at the ninth - his final hole - and was delighted with his day's work. 'It was so, so hard,' said Syme. 'Every single part of it was tricky. I think overall I missed it in the right spots. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I could be annoyed with a couple of three-putts, but I made a couple of good saves as well and I am happy to make the putt for bogey as the ninth is a really tough hole. It would have been sore to finish with a double considering how well I battled and it was a pretty good score.' The 29-year-old, who is chasing a maiden win on the main tour, added: 'As it was a late finish last night, it was a case of getting a quick bowl of pasta then trying to rest as much as possible and get a good sleep. You hoped it was going to be calmer than was being forecast, but it was pumping straight from the start today. 'It was so tough. You've just got to try and control your ball the best you can as it was very, very tricky. Anything around par is a great score.' More of the same weather-wise is on the cards for Saturday. 'I won't say I love playing in these conditions, but I am very used to it as trying to keep the ball under the wind is what we were brought up playing in,' said Syme. 'We obviously don't play in conditions like these that much on tour, but I'll just try to keep battling on over the weekend.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Richie Ramsay, who opened with a 66 on his return to action after being laid low by a 'virus' in recent weeks, was among the later starters in the second round. Rookie pro Lorna McClymont is safely through to the weekend in the Tenerife Ladies Open at Abama Golf | Mark Runnacles/LET On the Ladies European Tour, Lorna McClymont followed a first-day 70 with a 73 to sit on one under at the halfway stage in the Tenerife Ladies Open at Abama Golf, where Laura Beveridge also progressed to the weekend after a second-round 70 left her on level par. In the amateur ranks, Scottish duo Cameron Adam and Niall Shiels Donegan both made solid starts in the St Andrews Links Trophy as the first-round action took place on the Jubilee Course. Adam, the 2023 Scottish Amateur champion from Royal Burgess, covered the last seven holes in three under to card a four-under 68, with California-based Shiels Donegan matching that effort with a round that contained five birdies. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
The Derby could be delayed as yellow warning issued amid 'major threat'
Epsom Downs officials have put together a contingency plan after the Met Office issued a Yellow weather warning for the Surrey area during Saturday Epsom have a contingency plan in place to delay The Derby - if forecast thunder and lightning hit Epsom this afternoon. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning on Friday for thunderstorms across parts of central and southern England and Wales. And Jim Allen, overseeing his first Derby as Epsom's general manager, will put the time of the feature race back if the worst of the forecast materialises. ITV 's Derby broadcast is due off air at 4.15pm - 45 minutes after the Derby's scheduled 'off' time - and Allen said: 'We obviously have delayment and abandonment procedures that we will put into place, should we need them. 'Let's say we have a lightning storm at the time of the Derby - we've got 45 minutes between that and the next race, and we're still live on ITV. If we had a storm, I'm sure we could find time to fit the race in, live on air. 'We're so high up here that it often blows through quite quickly - I can't imagine that we will have a lightning storm for 45 minutes.' The Met Office Yellow National Severe Weather Warning came into effect on Friday morning and predicted more persistent rain and showers to arrive into the southwest, spreading eastwards overnight and becoming windy in the southwest by dawn. Saturday looks to be a very showery day, with frequent heavy showers, some thundery with gusty winds and hail. Met Office Chief Meteorologist Dan Suri said: 'Frequent heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected for much of Saturday, before they fade from the west during the mid-to-late afternoon. 'It's possible that 10-15mm of rain could fall in less than an hour, while some places could see 30-40mm of rain over several hours from successive showers and thunderstorms. Frequent lightning, hail, and strong, gusty winds are also possible. 'A yellow warning for thunderstorms has been issued and covers parts of central and southern England and Wales. While brisk winds ensure that most places in the warning area will be hit by showers, not all places will see thunderstorms. In this case it's difficult to predict where exactly thunderstorms will hit because they are small and fast changing. 'One analogy we use to picture the complexity of this forecasting challenge is comparing it to boiling a pan of water and having to guess exactly where and when the bubbles will appear. We know some will, but only in certain places, and that is why thunderstorms are so hard to predict.'
Daily Record
8 hours ago
- Daily Record
Battling Bob MacIntyre still afloat in Canada ahead of sink or swim US Open test
Scottish star scraps in Friday round in his Canada effort Battling Bob MacIntyre scrapped to keep himself afloat in his defence of the RBC Canadian Open. The Scottish star endured a frustrating second day at TPC Toronto in his quest to go back-to-back at the prestigious event. MacIntyre made a strong start to the tournament with opening round of 65, but he was unable to make further steps forward in his next effort. The Oban star started positively enough with a birdie at his first hole. However, a double at the next and three more dropped shots left him hovering dangerously close to the cut mark with a third of his round remaining. MacIntyre needed to show his quality and fighting spirit to stave off any more setbacks and picked up a couple of shots in that closing half-dozen holes for a 72 to get it back to a score of three-under par at the halfway stage and safely into the weekend. With 36 holes to go, the Scot faces a mammoth task to get his trophy back with leader Cameron Champ setting a midway mark of 12-under, nine ahead of last year's winner. But, with the US Open looming at Oakmont next week, MacIntyre's grit and determination to stay in the battle offers encouragement for the third major of the campaign in Pennsylvania. The Tartan star has more work to do in Canada, but looking ahead, he has urged the USGA to make the US Open a fair test as he admits he might not enjoy Oakmont. MacIntyre will be the country's sole representative and, having been made aware about the perils of the track, admits tournament organisers need to find the right balance between tough and fair. He explained: 'From what I'm hearing, I don't know if I'm going to enjoy it. I don't think anyone's going to enjoy it unless you're holding the trophy at the end of the week. But going back to these historical golf courses, I'm a big believer in lengths of golf courses. 'I talk about all this modern technology and stuff. We're talking about how long rounds of golf are taken because of lengths of golf courses. 7,800 yards with five-inch-thick rough. So I don't know if I'm the sort of guy that'll enjoy it unless I'm up there competing at the top end. It's going to be an absolute grind from the start.' Speaking to Sky, he added: 'You can [enjoy it]. I mean, I don't want to get too much into it, but if it's set up right, if the fairways are wide enough, then you can have as thick or rough as you want. If the fairways are wide enough, I'm fair game. 'But when we went to Winged Foot, the fairways weren't wide enough. So it just fed into the hands of who's going to hit it the furthest, the longest guys, who's going to chip it the best out of them 15 guys. I know there's a bit more to it than that, but that's the way it feels. 'At Oakmont, I know there's no trees and it's just so open, but hopefully the fairways have got enough width that we can play golf, so that then if you are going to go into the five-inch thick rough, it's a bad tee shot, which I'm fair game. I do like a tough test, but let's make it a fair, tough test.'
