Higgins admires Judd – but Willie was best in the room
John Higgins takes on Judd Trump today in his first match for nearly four months.
Their showdown in the rescheduled Tour Championship in Milton Keynes has taken on added poignancy for the fourtime World champion following the death of Willie Thorne.
The 66-year-old announced he was fighting leukaemia in March, and passed away in a Spanish hospital in the early hours last Wednesday morning.
Higgins recalled: “I’ll always remember him commentating on the 2011 World Final when I played Judd.
“The atmosphere was amazing, and Willie told me he’s never cried before the final session of the World Championship.
“He said he’d cried at the end when his friends had won the Final in the past, but the tears in his eyes that day was down to the reception me and Judd received from the Crucible crowd.
“The news during the week was heartbreaking, as Willie (inset) was a big favourite among the players.
“I’ll always remember him for when he’d walk into a room.
“You could have Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Steve Davis all sitting there, but he’d walk in and say, ‘So, who was the best player in here before I walked in?’ “That always made us smile.” The Wizard from Wishaw hopes to be smiling today after his match with Trump.
He was thumped 18-9 by the Juddernaut in last year’s World Final in Sheffield. But it’s time for revenge today. “Judd showed last year how good he is,” admitted Higgins. “He just blitzed me, blew me away.
“I know how dangerous he can be. I’ve always said that it’s not just the player you can overpower, it’s the game. That’s a feat in itself, and he did that.
“You can only really tip your cap to people like Judd for playing like that, especially as we all know how difficult the game can be. Every credit to him.
“I’ve played him in a lot of matches over the last 10 years – and I’ve had to play out of my skin to beat him.
“He’s always played a really good standard against the likes of myself. I think he’s the only person who can answer how much pressure he was putting on himself to win the World title and other tournaments.
“But I know for fact that when I’ve played him he’s played unbelievable stuff.
“It was only really a matter of time before he started dominating.
“I’m not sure whether that’s too strong a word, but that’s how difficult he can be to play against – and to beat.”
Higgins beat Trump, then a promising upstart, in an epic 2011 World final to lift his fourth crown.
But Higgins, now 45, knows that Trump is the future of the game and admits it will be tough at this stage in his career to raise his own level to that high standard.
“Even when I beat him in 2011 he was playing certain shots that, in a way, no other players can play,” reflected Higgins.
“There’s an opportunity for him to win a lot more tournaments, but that shouldn’t be a stick to beat him with.
“People might think he’s winning more tournaments now because there are more.
“But that’s not true, the reason he’s winning more is because he can be head and shoulders above most players.
“His strike-rate with centuries is incredible. The only player you could put close to him is Ronnie O’Sullivan and, then possibly, Neil Robertson.
“When you score as heavily as that it’s almost automatic they’re going to be competing for and winning titles.
“It’s not rocket science when you’ve got that scoring power.”