John Higgins has something to ask Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams but he can't

The Wizard of Wishaw won his 32nd ranking title on Saturday in Yushan as he beat Joe O’Connor in the final of the World Open.

It ended a wait of almost exactly four years since his last ranking title, when he brilliantly won the Players Championship in 2021, finally putting doubts out of his mind over whether he could still claim the big prizes in the game.

Thanks to that £175,000 top prize in China, Higgins has re-joined Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams in the top eight in the world rankings, with all three legends of snooker now 49 years old.

It is an incredibly impressive achievement from all three men to still be among the best on the planet as they approach their sixth decades and Higgins would like to discuss it with the men he has been battling it out with for well over 30 years.

However, such is the competitive nature of the trio that the Scot would not see a cosy chat about life as appropriate and would have to wait till they hang up their cues to talk it out.

‘It’s good. I am still in there fighting with the likes of Mark and Ronnie. Two great players,’ said Higgins.

‘I will be brutally honest, they are the only two guys I would probably want to sit down with and ask the question: “How does it feel to still be up there at the top of the game at 49-50?” Because nobody else has done it in the game.

‘But you cannot really ask them that as they are still rivals with you. It’s a difficult one. It’s tough, but also enjoyable.’

Higgins admitted that belief in himself had begun to drain as painful losses mounted and trophies became harder to come by, but the triumph in Yushan could turn things around.

‘This is massive. At 49, people would be thinking I would never get there again,’ he said. ‘The spin-offs of winning a big Chinese money event can establish you for the next couple of years. It takes the pressure off. This has given me a lot of confidence.

‘I know I am always classed with those two guys [O’Sullivan and Williams], two unbelievable champions, who have been in the top eight and winning big events. I was admiring them. To get a win for myself and put myself back in to be mentioned with those two guy is special.’

Higgins will be looking to continue this winning run as he travels to Hong Kong for another huge event in the World Grand Prix.

He takes on Ali Carter on Tuesday and will go there with a level of confidence that he has not had for a while, although he is not sure how that will affect him.

‘It has been a long time since I have won a big event. So, to win this and then roll to the next one, I am not used to it,’ he said. ‘I really don’t know how I will feel on Tuesday. It could help me or I could run into a brick wall.

‘Hopefully it will reinforce a bit of confidence in myself, which if I am honest, it has been lacking for the last few years.

‘I still felt I had played good stuff. The deciding-frame defeats it does knock the stuffing out of you a bit. I have been honest enough to say that. I am just delighted.’

The World Grand Prix gets underway on Tuesday morning in Hong Kong.