Higgins, 50, looked a dead cert to topple ‘The Thunder From Down Under’ when they met in the opening round of the 2025 Masters in January last year. Instead, the Scot was left with egg on his face after blowing a 5-1 lead and exiting the tournament at the first hurdle. Such a cataclysmic capitulation clearly left its mark at the time as he reflected on the defeat. However, the veteran has since shown there’s life in the old dog yet with a series of promising performances over the past year. Higgins spoke to the WST following a hard-fought win over Mark Davis at the 2025 German Masters later the same month. And while the Scot appeared grateful for all snooker has afforded him, it was evident from his comments that he perhaps wasn’t enjoying himself on tour quite as he once did.
« This is a sport that has given me so much over the years but it begins to take your soul bit by bit, » he said at the time. « This has been a good sport for me, but as you fall down the rankings it can begin to take that bit of goodness. It is a brutal sport sometimes.
« That was a good win. Mark has always been really tough and given me some tough battles. It is always a good game when I play him, and that was another one. »
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From those remarks, one might assume Higgins was just about ready to pack it all in. But such a development would be a great loss to snooker based on some of the displays fans have since witnessed.
He’s still waiting on a first ranked win this season but has put on a string of terrific displays in high-profile match-ups. He reached the final of both this term’s International Championship and the 2026 Masters, not to mention another narrow loss to Robertson when they last met at the Champion of Champions quarter-finals in November.
All that suggests the Scot very much still has what it takes to compete at the highest level. That only makes it all the more painful to hear a seasoned star of the sport talk about his game in such saddened tones.
It’s been almost two years since Higgins last defeated Robertson in the Winners Group of the 2024 Championship League. He trails the Australian with 15 wins to Robertson’s 18 in their overall head-to-head entering this week’s action in Telford, including one draw.
Victory at the Players Championship would serve as further vindication for Higgins that he still belongs among snooker’s elite. However, he’ll know better than to allow any feelings of complacency affect his performance this time around.
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