Higgins is tee-totally focused
JOHN HIGGINS has quit the booze in a bid to land a fifth Betfred World Championship crown.
The seasoned Scot went teetotal 18 months ago and is feeling the benefits of his lifestyle change.
And rejuvenated world No.5 Higgins is desperate to banish his recent Crucible heartache after three agonising defeats in the last four world finals.
The Wishaw Wizard once again heads to snooker’s spiritual home as one of the leading contenders.
This follows a vintage display to pocket the Players Championship – his first ranking title in three years. “I haven’t touched a drop for about 18 months,” revealed Higgins, who kicks-off his Crucible quest against China’s Tian Pengfei today.
“It’s just one of those things where I’ve just decided to cut it out of my lifestyle. I don’t miss it.
“I didn’t have a problem or drink every night, but I decided to cut it out and it’s worked for me.
“I feel better mentally and different things, it just makes you sharper.”
Higgins’ title drought coincided with his three painful back-to-back final defeats at the game’s Theatre of Dreams.
The Scot was on the verge of retirement but his family got him through those dark times.
“It’s your whole family telling you that you’re good enough and you’ve done it before that helps you,” added Higgins.
Fans returned to live sport for the first time this year on the opening day at the Crucible. Around two thirds of the allowed capacity crowd of 325 per session was filled.
Neil Robertson roared 6-3 ahead against China’s Liang Wenbo with breaks of 108, 79, 71, 60 and 59. Stephen Maguire finished the first session 5-4 behind to Jamie Jones, losing five of the last six frames from 3-0 up.