The 49-year-old is back in the winners’ circle after beating Joe O’Connor 10-6 in the final in Yushan on Saturday, claiming a 32nd ranking title in style with a century in the last frame.
It is yet another superb achievement in one of the sport’s greatest careers, but doubts had crept in and taken root over whether he could still get over the line.
Higgins’ last ranking title before Yushan came at the Players Championship in 2021, when he produced a string of unstoppable performances to lift the trophy.
If you had said then that he would not lift another trophy, anyone would have scoffed at the idea, but that possibility became more and more probable as opportunities passed him by and he marched closer to 50 years old.
The Wizard was not struggling to make finals, but winning them became a problem as he suffered painful, narrow defeats in the showpieces at the Northern Ireland Open, English Open and Tour Championship over the 2021/22 season.
Not only were these narrow, but came from Higgins being in winning positions, notably the Tour Championship loss to Neil Robertson when the Scot was 9-4 ahead but the Australian won 10-9.
Other defeats have followed from strong positions, as recently as the Masters in January when Higgins was beaten 6-5 by Robertson having led 5-1.
The wounding losses looked like they could become too much even for a four-time world champion as scar tissue replaced the previously steely exterior of the Scot.
The big win in China has put those fears to bed, though, and offers Higgins the chance to add more chapters to his immense career as he moves back into the world’s top eight ahead of his 50th birthday in May.
‘I’m just delighted,’ he said. ‘I am drained, there has been a lot of nervous energy in the last couple of days. I am dead proud to win another big event at this age.
‘It shows you how the sport can change. I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t know if I was going to win another event again because I have taken so many devastating losses over the last three or four years. So to come back and win this is a proud moment for me.’
It was not straight forward for the Wizard this week, he needed deciding frames to beat Zhou Yuelong and then Zak Surety in the semi-finals.
Those tight wins helped prove to Higgins that he can still do it under pressure, especially against Zhou as he took the last three frames to win 5-4.
‘I have been on the end of so many tight ones lately,’ he said. ‘The Zhou Yuelong game could be a turning point for me, to come back to win that decider gave me a bit more confidence that I can handle it in the decider.’
However, even after beating Surety in the semi, he admitted that the belief in himself was not exactly as rock solid as it has been in the past.
‘I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I am believing. In a way, I am hoping. I believe I am good enough but to do it, it’s a different story,’ he said ahead of the final.
Higgins was strong in the final, although O’Connor struggled in only his second ranking showpiece, especially in the first session.
It was a stunning week for the 29-year-old as he knocked out the likes of Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter but he ran out of steam a touch in the final.
‘Joe didn’t play his best today, having been unbelievable all week,’ said Higgins. ‘He didn’t have the same game he had against Shaun, Judd and Ali.
‘I kept him under pressure, my safety was pretty good all day. He’s a great all-round player but just didn’t turn up today, he’ll come again I’m sure.’
There was clearly some emotion from Higgins as he got his hands on the trophy, but not as much as he had expected after such a long wait for more success.
His wife, Denise, was not there to celebrate with him as she is joining him at the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong which starts on Tuesday.
‘I thought I’d be more emotional really,’ he said. ‘Maybe because the family’s not here. I’ll see Denise tomorrow in Hong Kong, try and do well in the Grand Prix and take some decent presents back for the kids.’
Higgins heads to the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong after claiming his 32nd ranking title, his first came at the Grand Prix held in Derby in October 1994 when he was just 19 years old.
The Scot is now the second oldest player to win a ranking title after Ray Reardon (50) and with those devastating losses behind him, who knows how many more trophies are still to come.
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