John Higgins has won his first ranking title in four years after capturing the 2025 World Open title on Saturday in China.
The Scot ended a long drought by his high standards with a 10-6 triumph over Joe O’Connor at the Yushan Sport Centre.
Higgins had been the favourite heading into the contest, but there were some doubts whether he would be able to handle the pressure of the occasion or not.
That may be a strange thing to say considering his elevated status in the game as a four-time world champion and an all-time legend.
Yet the last few years in the 49 year-old’s career have been hampered by missed opportunities in the latter stages of big tournaments.
Indeed, Higgins had lost the last five ranking event finals he had played in, including three in which he botched sizable leads.
While there were a few shaky moments during the second session of the World Open final, he was ultimately able to hold himself together on this occasion.
Higgins won a lengthy and dramatic opening frame of the affair on the black and duly took the subsequent two to establish an early 3-0 advantage.
The Wizard of Wishaw wasn’t at his absolute best but scored strongly at the right moments to orchestrate a 6-2 cushion at the end of the afternoon’s play.
A break of 68 helped Higgins to the first frame when the duo resumed for the evening session a couple of hours later.
O’Connor then took advantage of what appeared to be signs of tension from his illustrious opponent, winning the next two frames to reduce the gap to only three.
If the Englishman had won the last frame before the mid-session interval, the outcome may have been different.
But Higgins settled himself with a run of 57 and backed it up with a contribution of 94 to move to within the brink of glory.
To his credit, former Scottish Open runner-up O’Connor kept fighting and won both the 14th and 15th frames to stay in the hunt.
However, Higgins eventually sealed his long overdue success in a big tournament with the final’s only century break to take his career tally of ranking crowns to 32.
In addition to pocketing the £175,000 top prize, Higgins will receive an invitation to compete in next season’s Champion of Champions.
It was a disappointing conclusion to the week for O’Connor, whose search for a first piece of silverware as a professional player continues.
The Leicester potter will miss out on the upcoming trio of events where qualification is determined through the one-year rankings.
O’Connor, though, can head to next month’s World Championship buoyed by his recent uptick in form – and particularly through his strong displays in this event against Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy.
John Higgins, by contrast, will be a busy boy before returning to Sheffield for the 2025 World Snooker Championship.
The soon-to-be 50 year-old is set to participate in next week’s World Grand Prix in addition to the ensuing Players and Tour Championships.
With confidence renewed in his ability to emerge with the trophy in his hands, he will be a dangerous competitor in the weeks ahead.
Featured photo credit: WST
