John Higgins clutches world title No. 4 John Higgins came through a tight final to win the World Snooker Championship for a fourth time, and then admitted it was agony to play against young star Judd Trump. Higgins emerged as an 18-15 winner against the 21-year-old qualifier, who will rue a host of missed opportunities in the final session.
Victory marks a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Higgins, who recently served a six-month suspension for bringing the game into disrepute. His post-tournament tears came out of relief, as well as emotion following the loss of his father, and the Scot confessed his fourth title means more than any other.
\"It\'s the most important of all my wins. I don\'t really need to say why, it\'s self-explanatory,\" Higgins said. \"This is far and away the biggest and best I\'ve ever won, no question.
\"I want to get to seven world titles now because I\'ve won three in the last five years. I\'ve rededicated myself in the last few years and I want to keep on winning it because it\'s an unbelievable feeling.\"
Trump fought his more illustrious counterpart all the way, levelling at 14-14 in the final, and Higgins confessed he expects the youngster to become a big name in the sport.
\"Judd was torturing me out there. I don\'t know how I\'ve got through it all,\" he said. \"I\'ve beaten a multiple future world champion. He\'s that good. It was a joy to watch him as well. I\'m sure 99% in Britain or around the world were watching him because of the brand of snooker he was playing.
\"He\'s a good-looking boy, young, exciting. The old has-beens like us will be around for a few more years to ruffle them up but he\'s definitely the future, which is great.\"