John Higgins was visibly emotional and struggled to hold back tears on the BBC as he opened up about his father-in-law’s heart attack following his winning start to snooker’s World Championship. The Scottish snooker ace managed to clinch a 10-7 victory over Joe O’Connor after an uncertain start, with doubts having initially been cast over his appearance at the Crucible.
Higgins skipped media day on Thursday and missed out on the annual pre-tournament festivities like the Champions Dinner and Green Carpet Ceremony. While his fellow competitors headed to Sheffield, Higgins stayed in Scotland, supporting his wife Denise through a distressing period for their family.
The four-time world champion did travel down but endured a slow start against O’Connor before rallying in the second session to secure a spot in the last 16 against Xiao Guodong.
“That was a tough game,” admitted Higgins. “I thought Joe played great in the first session and I just managed to scramble out at 5-4. Tonight I played better.”
Overcome with emotion, Higgins broke down live on air, receiving comfort from BBC host Seema Jaswal, who embraced him warmly.
Higgins shared: “That was the most emotional I have ever been today. I left my wife and I was in tears.
“Obviously my father-in-law wasn’t great. I was sitting having dinner with my boy last night and I was thinking about sitting here with my dad 25 years ago. I was drained today.
“I had a couple of hours sleep, I came out tonight feeling much better and definitely played a lot better. I am still so proud that I am still playing at a good level at this age.”
Mark Allen is determined to seek inspiration from recent Crucible champions as he looks to end a difficult season on a high by claiming a first world title.
The Antrim 39-year-old has slipped from first to eighth in the standings after failing to go beyond a ranking semi-final this season, but is brimming with confidence after completing a 10-6 win over Chinese qualifier Fan Zhengyi.
Both Kyren Wilson and Luca Brecel clinched their respective world titles having arrived in Sheffield on the back of below-par campaigns and, after reeling off four frames in a row to make victory over Fan a formality, Allen looks to be regaining his momentum at the right time.
Allen said: “It just shows that sometimes the form book goes out of the window here. Kyren had a shocker of a season compared to what I’ve had and he went on to win the world title.
“Obviously I’d rather have come into this tournament on the back of some good form, but if he can do it and Luca can do it the year before, why not me?”
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