John Higgins managed to reach the last 16 of the snooker World Championship at the Crucible on Monday evening with a 10-7 victory over Joe O’Connor and struggled to stifle his emotions
John Higgins was left choking back tears after his snooker World Championship win against Joe O’Connor. The 49-year-old reached the last 16 of the competition with a 10-7 victory.
But it was a hugely emotional affair for the four-time world champion, who broke down in tears in an interview with the BBC shortly after his win. And he has opened up on a tough family situation that has dominated his thoughts while at the Crucible.
Speaking during his interview, Higgins said: “That was the most emotional I have ever been today. I left my apartment and was in tears. My family situation hasn’t been great.
“I left my wife and I was in tears. Obviously my father-in-law wasn’t great [after a heart attack last week] and I was having dinner with my boy last night and thinking about sitting here with my dad 25 years ago.
“I was drained today. I had a couple of hours sleep and I came out and felt and played a lot better. I am still so proud that I am still playing at a good level at this age.”
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Explaining further, Higgins revealed that he was now in a far better head space and is now looking forward to continuing his run at the World Championship. He added: “This morning on my way over I was in tears, thinking about different things.
“I was totally drained. To get out (of the first session) 5-4 was a result because Joe was playing brilliant. I got back to my apartment and crawled into bed, and slept for two hours which was the best sleep I have had in years. Tonight I felt so much better.”
The interview certainly struck a chord with presenter Seema Jaswal, who broke rank to embrace Higgins after his admission. After getting out of her chair to comfort the snooker star, she said: “You did so well, I need to give you a hug.”
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Higgins now already knows who he will take on in the last 16 at the Crucible, with a clash against Guodong Xiao set to take place on Thursday 24 April. That clash is set to get underway at 7pm.
One man who won’t be in the draw is Higgins’ beaten opponent O’Connor. He has been on the end of some scathing comments from Steve Davis after an ‘unforgivable’ error.
“The thing I cannot understand is why did Joe not put John back in?” Davis asked. “It’s not a foul and a miss because he needed snookers. John played it with pace. The cue ball goes into a nasty position.
“Joe could have said, ‘you play that shot’. That was strange. You stop making the correct decision under pressure with the positional side. That was unforgivable, not to put your opponent back in. He sacrificed the safety exchange. John would have been expected to have been put back in.”
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