Alex Higgins

Template:Short description Template:Use Hiberno-English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Template other Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, and known as the "People's Champion" for his popularity and charisma, he is often credited as a key figure in snooker's success as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s.

Higgins turned professional in 1970 and won the World Snooker Championship in 1972, defeating John Spencer 37Template:Nbnd31 in the final to become the first qualifier to win the world title, a feat that only three other players—Terry Griffiths in 1979, Shaun Murphy in 2005 and Zhao Xintong in 2025—have achieved since. Aged 22, he was then the sport's youngest world champion, a record he held until 21-year-old Stephen Hendry won the title in 1990. He was world championship runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1976 and Cliff Thorburn in 1980. At the 1982 event, Higgins came from 13Template:Nbnd15 behind to defeat Jimmy White 16Template:Nbnd15 in the semi-finals, producing a 69 clearance in the penultimate Template:Glossary link that is regarded as one of the greatest Template:Glossary links in the sport's history. He defeated Reardon 18Template:Nbnd15 in the final, winning his second world title ten years after his first. Images of a tearful Higgins holding his baby daughter after his 1982 victory are regarded as some of the most iconic in the history of British televised sport.

Higgins won Masters titles in 1978 and 1981 and won the UK Championship in 1983, where he recovered from 0Template:Nbnd7 behind to defeat Steve Davis 16Template:Nbnd15 in the final. As of 2023, he was one of 11 players to have completed a career Triple Crown. He won the World Doubles Championship with White in 1984 and played with Dennis Taylor and Eugene Hughes on the all-Ireland team that won the World Cup three consecutive times from 1985 to 1987. He won his last professional title at the 1989 Irish Masters, defeating Hendry 9Template:Nbnd8 in the final. He failed to qualify for the professional tour in 1997Template:Nbnd98 and played his last professional match in August 1997.

Remembered for his turbulent lifestyle, Higgins was a heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana. He had tempestuous relationships with women—both his marriages ended in divorce, and he had widely publicised altercations with other girlfriends, one of whom stabbed him three times during a domestic argument. Known as an unpredictable, difficult, and volatile character, he was often disciplined by the sport's governing body, most notably when he was fined £12,000 and banned for five tournaments in 1986 after head-butting an official, and banned again for the entire [[1990–91 snooker season|1990Template:Nbnd91 season]] after punching another official and threatening to have Taylor shot. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, he died of multiple causes in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010, aged 61.

Life and career

Early life

Alexander Gordon Higgins was born in Belfast on 18 March 1949. The only son of Alexander Gordon Higgins, a labourer, and his wife Elizabeth (née Stockman), a cleaner. He had three sisters, Isobel, Ann and Jean.Template:Sfn His father suffered a brain injury after being hit by a lorry, and he was raised primarily by his mother. The family lived on Abingdon Drive in Sandy Row, a predominantly Protestant working-class area of inner-city south Belfast, and Higgins was educated at the local Mabel Street Primary School and Kelvin Secondary School. From age 10, he began frequenting the Jam Pot, a local snooker and billiards hall, running bets for his father and doing odd jobs. He began to play snooker at the Jam Pot at age 11,Template:Sfn and subsequently began playing with more challenging opponents at the Shaftesbury and YMCA clubs in the city centre.Template:Sfn

After leaving school in 1964, Higgins worked as a messenger for the Irish Linen Company, but the job was short-lived as it offered few prospects and the business was in decline.Template:Sfn At 15 he spotted a newspaper advert for stable boys at Eddie Reavey's stables in Wantage, Berkshire and left Belfast hoping to follow in the footsteps of his idol Lester Piggott and become a jockey. His employer later recalled him as "a starved little rat from the slums". Despite being fired six times, he was taken back on board and stayed with Reavey for almost two years, during which time he gained too much weight to ride competitively.Template:Sfn He left the stables for London, where he settled in a flat in Leytonstone and resumed playing snooker. He won several money matches and earned extra income at a paper mill near London Bridge, but he grew homesick and returned to Belfast in late 1967.Template:Sfn

Higgins joined the snooker league at the Mountpottinger YMCA, where he faced tougher opponents. He practised up to six hours a day, studied weaknesses in the other players, and devised new shots in his game.Template:Sfn In January 1968, he entered and won the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship, defeating Maurice Gill 4Template:Nbnd1 in the final.Template:Sfn He won the title at his first appearance and, at age 18, was the tournament's youngest winner. One week later, he won the All-Ireland Amateur Championship and turned professional for a short spell before reverting to amateur status.Template:Sfn Higgins was appointed captain of the Mountpottinger YMCA team.Template:Sfn He defended his Northern Ireland Amateur title the following year, but lost 0Template:Nbnd4 to Dessie Anderson in the final. Around this time, Higgins defeated world champion John Spencer in several exhibition matches where he received a start of 14 Template:Glossary link per Template:Glossary link.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn These victories, coupled with his rise in popularity, with his matches being attended by as many as several hundred people, convinced Higgins to return to England and turn professional.Template:Sfn

Professional career

1970s

Higgins settled in Blackburn, Lancashire as it presented more favourable opportunities for snooker.Template:Sfn It was here where salesman Dennis Broderick and bingo tycoons Jack Leeming and John McLaughlin recognised his talents and became his agents, buying him a flat and new clothes.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn McLaughlin originated the nickname of "Hurricane" for Higgins, who would have preferred "Alexander the Great".Template:Sfn Higgins applied to be a professional player and his application was accepted by the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) in January 1970. Initially he was a probationary member, which meant he had to demonstrate to the BACC that he could earn a living from playing.Template:Sfn He had worked out his strategy against the top professionals around this time; he noted they were percentage players and to beat them, chose to "attack with brute force and scare them to death".Template:Sfn Higgins' sister Isobel offered to pay the £100 fee so he could enter the 1971 World Snooker Championship, but he declined as he did not feel ready.Template:Sfn

The 1972 World Snooker Championship began in March 1971 and concluded in February 1972, and Higgins won the title at his first attempt, defeating Spencer 37Template:Nbnd31 in the final.Template:Efn In the qualifying competition, Higgins won ten consecutive frames in defeating Maurice Parkin 11Template:Nbnd3, then eliminated Jackie Rea 19Template:Nbnd11, making Template:Glossary links of 103 and 133 during the match. Rea complimented Higgins on the performance, saying that "He does everything wrong. And yet he knocks such a lot in."Template:Sfn In the quarter-finals, he defeated former champion John Pulman 31Template:Nbnd23.Template:Sfn In January 1972, Higgins defeated Jackie Rea in the final of the Irish Professional Championship, a title Rea had held since 1952.Template:Sfn In the World Championship semi-final Rex Williams won nine consecutive frames to establish a 12Template:Nbnd6 lead against Higgins. Higgins was not ahead in the match after this until he won the 51st frame for 26Template:Nbnd25. The match went to a Template:Glossary link, and Williams was 28 points to 14 ahead when he missed an attempt to Template:Glossary link a Template:Glossary link from its spot into a middle pocket. Higgins compiled a break of 32, and then, following some Template:Glossary link play, potted the green ball to clinch victory.Template:Sfn Williams later commented "That blue could have changed the direction of both our careers."Template:Sfn Spectators at the final, held at Selly Park British Legion, Birmingham, were seated on wooden boards placed atop beer barrels.Template:Sfn There was a miners' strike in progress at the same time as the final, and on the first evening of play, without normal power, the session was conducted with reduced light provided by a mobile generator. As champion, Higgins earned £480 in prize money.Template:Sfn At 22, Higgins was the youngest-ever winner of the title, a record he held until Stephen Hendry's victory at the age of 21 in 1990. He was also the first qualifier to win the world title, a feat that as of 2025 only three other players—Terry Griffiths in 1979, Shaun Murphy in 2005 and Zhao Xintong in 2025——have achieved.

In the summer of 1972 Higgins was the subject of the half-hour Thames TV documentary Hurricane Higgins.Template:Sfn During an exhibition match in Bombay, India an inebriated Higgins was unable to play due to the high temperatures and proceeded to play shirtless. He was fined £200.Template:Sfn In 1973 Higgins made his debut appearance on Pot Black, but he lost his first game and stormed off the set. Ted Lowe convinced him to return and finish his other games, but friction between the two remained and Lowe forbade Higgins to appear on the show for five years.Template:Sfn Higgins lost his world title with a 9Template:Nbnd23 defeat to Eddie Charlton in the semi-finals of the 1973 tournament.Template:Sfn Higgins blamed his loss to Charlton on having to use a new Template:Glossary link after his usual one had been broken a few months before the tournament. At the time, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) had scheduled a meeting to hear a complaint that Higgins had refused to continue in a tournament after complaining about the lighting. Pulman, the WPBSA chairman, declared that he welcomed Higgins losing, as "he [had] dragged the game down."Template:Sfn

By the end of 1974, Higgins had started to alter his attacking style of play and add more tactical and safety elements,Template:Sfn but his results remained inconsistent throughout the rest of the decade.Template:Sfn In 1976, Higgins reached the world championship final again after close wins against Cliff Thorburn, Spencer and Charlton.Template:Sfn Higgins led 10Template:Nbnd9 against Ray Reardon in the final but faded as the contest progressed.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In a match marred by erratic refereeing and a sub-standard table,Template:Sfn Reardon pulled away to win the title for the fifth time, with the score finishing at 27Template:Nbnd16.Template:Sfn The 1977 World Championship was the first to be held at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, and Higgins lost the deciding frame of his first-round match against Mountjoy.Template:Sfn Although not one of the eight invited professionals to enter the 1977 Pontins Open, for which Lowe was an organiser, Higgins was one of the 24 players from an entry of 864 to reach the stage where the invited professionals joined the draw, despite having to concede 21 points a frame to amateur players.Template:Sfn He whitewashed Reardon and Fred Davis, then defeated Griffiths 7Template:Nbnd4 in the final, watched by an audience of around 2,000 people.Template:Sfn In Masters of the Baize (2005), a book about world snooker champions, Luke Williams and Paul Gadsby wrote that the tournament "cemented his status as 'The People's Champion'."Template:Sfn

Higgins retained the Irish Professional title against Dennis Taylor in 1978. A week later, a 7Template:Nbnd5 victory over Thorburn, from 4Template:Nbnd5 behind, secured the 1978 Masters title for him. At the 1978 World Championship, he led Patsy Fagan 12Template:Nbnd11 in the first round but was eliminated after he lost three close frames: on a Template:Glossary link, then the final Template:Glossary link and, on the final Template:Glossary link. He saw off challenges from Fagan for the Irish Professional title in 1978 and 1979.

1980s

File:Steve Davis at German Masters Snooker Final (DerHexer) 2012-02-05 08.jpg

Steve Davis (pictured in 2012). Higgins wrote in 1987 that, "Playing big match snooker can be as great a turn-on as sex. There's nothing more exhilarating than walking into a room bursting with people to challenge my old enemy, Steve Davis."Template:Sfn

Higgins lost the Irish Professional title to Dennis Taylor the week before the 1980 World Championship. At the World Championship, he won the deciding frame against Tony Meo in the first round, then eliminated Mans, Steve Davis, and Kirk Stevens to reach the final against Thorburn. Sydney Friskin of The Times described the match as a contrast of styles: "the shrewd cumulative processes of Thorburn against the explosive break-building of Higgins". He also noted that each player had accused the other of distracting them during the match. Higgins began the final playing the matchplay snooker for which he had been commended, leading 6Template:Nbnd3 at the end of the first session and extending his advantage to 9Template:Nbnd5. However, Thorburn levelled the match at 9Template:Nbnd9.Template:Sfn They were also level at 11Template:Nbnd11, 13Template:Nbnd13, 15Template:Nbnd15 and 16Template:Nbnd16, from which point Thorburn won the two frames he needed to secure victory at 18Template:Nbnd16.Template:Sfn Higgins was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1980 UK Championship, losing 6Template:Nbnd16. He was the first player to win a second Masters title, beating Griffiths 9Template:Nbnd7 in the 1981 final after being runner-up when the two contested the 1980 final. He lost to Davis in the second round of the 1981 World Championship. That year, Souvenir Press published "Hurricane" Higgins' Snooker Scrapbook, an autobiographical work which Higgins had written in collaboration with Angela Patmore, having worked on the manuscript for almost a decade.

Higgins won the world title for a second time in 1982.Template:Sfn He eliminated Jim Meadowcroft 10Template:Nbnd5 in the first round, then won the deciding frame of this match against Doug Mountjoy and prevailed 13Template:Nbnd10 against Willie Thorne.Template:Sfn In the semi-final, he trailed Jimmy White 13Template:Nbnd15 in the best-of-31 match, but took the 29th frame and then compiled a break of 69 against White in the penultimate frame. Higgins had been 0Template:Nbnd59 points behind in that frame, but managed to complete an extremely challenging Template:Glossary link during which he was rarely in good Template:Glossary link. The break is regarded as one of the best in snooker history.Template:Sfn In the final he faced Reardon. From 15Template:Nbnd15, Higgins went on to achieve victory at 18Template:Nbnd15, clinching the match with a 135 total clearance in the final frame.Template:Sfn A tearful Higgins summoned his wife and baby daughter from the audience to celebrate with him, producing images regarded as some of the most iconic in the history of British televised sport.Template:Sfn Higgins would have been ranked No. 1 in the world rankings for the [[1982–83 snooker season|1982Template:Nbnd83 season]] had he not forfeited ranking points following disciplinary action. He released a country and western styled single, "One-Four-Seven", that year. It failed to chart.

Davis defeated him 16–5 in the semi-finals of the 1983 World Championship.Template:Sfn In the final of the 1983 UK Championship he trailed Davis 0Template:Nbnd7 before producing a comeback to win 16Template:Nbnd15.

In 1986, Higgins split with his manager Del Simmons and signed with Framework, a management group run by Howard Kruger who also managed Jimmy White, Stevens, and Tony Knowles. Later that year the four, with Status Quo, released a cover of "The Wanderer" by Dion as a counter to "Snooker Loopy", a pop single featuring snooker players managed by Barry Hearn's Matchroom.Template:Sfn At the 1986 UK Championship, Higgins head-butted tournament director Paul Hatherell after an argument. He was fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments, while he was also convicted of assault and criminal damage arising from the incident, and was fined £250 by a court. Higgins was fined £500 for being abusive towards tournament director Kevin Norton at the 1987 Irish Masters.Template:Sfn In 1987 he reached the Masters final for the fifth time; he lost in the deciding frame to Dennis Taylor.Template:Sfn By 1988, Higgins had been fined a total of £17,200 in his professional career.Template:Sfn

In 1988, Higgins was dropped by Kruger and acquired a new manager, Robin Driscoll.Template:Sfn In January 1989, Higgins fell out the window from his partner's first floor flat and broke multiple bones in his ankle. He arrived at several subsequent matches on crutches and played while hopping on one leg.Template:Sfn Later that year, Kruger's Framework Management company was wound up at Higgins's instigation, with Higgins claiming that over £50,000 was owed to him. Clive Everton wrote after Higgins's death that the money lost to Framework was "a financial blow from which [Higgins] never recovered."Template:Rp His last professional tournament win was the 1989 Irish Masters, in a 9–8 victory over Hendry in the final.

1990s

File:Dennis Taylor holding the World Snooker Championship Trophy.jpg

Dennis Taylor (pictured in 2025) holding the World Snooker Championship Trophy. At the 1990 World Cup, Higgins threatened to have Taylor, his team-mate, shot.Template:Sfn

At the 1990 British Open, Higgins lost 8–10 in the final against Canadian player Bob Chaperon, which was his last appearance in a major final. Higgins received a runner-up prize of £45,000, the highest of his career.Template:Sfn After losing his first-round match to Steve James at the 1990 World Championship, Higgins remained in his seat in the arena for some time, ordering several vodka and orange drinks, slouched in his chair and twitching.Template:Sfn Afterwards, he punched tournament official Colin Randle in the abdomen before the start of a press conference at which he announced his retirement, and abused the media as he left. This followed another incident at the 1990 World Cup, where he repeatedly argued with fellow player and compatriot Dennis Taylor, insulting his late mother and threatening to have him shot if he returned to Northern Ireland.Template:Sfn For his conduct, Higgins was banned for the rest of the season and all of the next. During his 15-month ban Higgins released a biography video, I'm No Angel (1991).Template:Sfn In 1992, Higgins and his collaborators actor Oliver Reed and the Troggs released "Wild Thing" as a single.

Higgins' return to the professional circuit began in August 1991, when he registered for pre-season qualifying matches. Now ranked 120th in the world, he was whitewashed by 20-year-old Adrian Rosa and failed to qualify for five other subsequent tournaments.Template:Sfn Higgins reached the last 16 of the 1991 Dubai Classic but lost to James. He also reached the televised stages of the 1991 UK Championship, but lost 4–9 to Hendry in the first round. During their post-match handshake, Hendry claimed Higgins said "Up your arse, you cunt" to him. After Hendry reported the incident to the governing body, the case was settled in a London court in August 1992, nine months later. Higgins was fined £500, bringing the total amount of fines as a professional to £23,200.Template:Sfn Darren Morgan defeated Higgins 10–1 in qualifying for the 1992 World Championship which Higgins described as "surreal snooker ... never in ten years would I believe that result", and demanded he and Morgan take a drug test. He later apologised.Template:Sfn

He competed in pre-season qualifying matches against amateurs, including former women's champion Stacey Hillyard.Template:Sfn Higgins reached the televised rounds of the 1994 World Championship and the last-32 of an event in three years.Template:Sfn Facing fellow Irishman Ken Doherty in the first round, he lost 6Template:Nbnd10.Template:Sfn The following year, during the qualifying rounds, he complained that the match referee John Williams was distracting him, not by standing in his line of vision but by being "in his line of thought", when he was on a break that had reached 103.Template:Sfn Williams refused to move, and Higgins, in tears, continued his break, eventually making 137, his highest-ever in a world championship match.Template:Sfn He was a member of the victorious Europe Team for the 1995 Mosconi Cup, a pool competition.

In 1997, shortly after Doherty won that year's World Championship, he agreed to play Higgins in an exhibition match at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast as a benefit. Doherty, who had idolised Higgins as a youngster, secured a 5–4 victory and the event raised £10,000 for Higgins.Template:Sfn Higgins was ranked 156th in the world at the end of the 1996–97 snooker season, when only the top 64 players qualified for the main circuit for the following season.Template:Sfn Other players could opt to join a "qualifying school" played over the summer of 1997. In August 1997, Higgins played what became his final match on the professional circuit with a 1–5 defeat to Neil Mosley at the Plymouth Pavilions.Template:Sfn He became aggressive after the match, and was escorted out of the venue by police. He failed to appear at his next two scheduled qualifying matches, saying that he had been attacked with an iron bar; he had a sprained wrist and sprained ankle.Template:Sfn In December 1997 he was featured in Alex Higgins: Rebel Without a Pause which was shown in the Northern Ireland region on BBC1. The Irish Independent reviewer Vincent Gribbin complained that the show was a "40 minute paranoid rant" by Higgins.

Post-retirement

After his exit from the professional game, Higgins spent time playing for small sums of money in and around Northern Ireland. He made appearances in the 2005 and 2006 Irish Professional Championship, experiencing first-round defeats by Garry Hardiman and Joe Delaney, respectively.

On 12 June 2007, it was reported that Higgins had assaulted a referee at a charity match in the north-east of England. Higgins returned to competitive action in September 2007 at the Irish Professional Championship in Dublin but was whitewashed 0–5 by former British Open champion Fergal O'Brien in the first round at the Spawell Club, Templeogue. His autobiography, From the Eye of the Hurricane: My Story, was published in 2007.

Higgins continued to play fairly regularly, and enjoyed "hustling" all comers for small-time stakes in clubs in Northern Ireland and beyond; in May 2009 he entered the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship, "to give it a crack", but failed to appear for his match.

On 8 April 2010, Higgins was part of the debut Snooker Legends Tour event in Sheffield, at the Crucible. Appearing alongside other retired or close-to-retiring professionals, including John Parrott, Jimmy White, John Virgo and Cliff Thorburn. He faced Thorburn in his match, but lost 0Template:Nbnd2.

It is estimated that Higgins earned and spent £3–4 million in his career as a snooker player.

Playing style

In describing Higgins's unconventional playing technique, his fellow professional Willie Thorne said that "He does everything wrong: his stance is square, he lifts his head, his arm's bent, he snatches at some of his shots." Thorne concluded that Higgins would be the worst example for an aspiring player to imitate.Template:Sfn Higgins's grip on his cue was less firm than typically employed by professional players.Template:Sfn Author Brendan Cooper wrote that "Beset with twitches, sniffs, and odd jerks of the limbs, Higgins would approach the table like a battered boxer trying to stay upright."Template:Sfn

Originally an out-and-out attacking player, Higgins developed his tactical game throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Thorburn praised his innovative positional play, citing him as one of the first players to "break out reds from potting the red, which is a very difficult thing to do."Template:Sfn Williams and Gadsby wrote that as Higgins grew older, his "technical shortcomings became burdensome", and that he began to fail on more shots as his hand-eye co-ordination declined, but note that he maintained a world championship career lasting over two decades.Template:Sfn Writing for the Dictionary of Irish Biography, James Quinn said that "His daredevil style thrilled audiences and inspired the kind of adulation and raucous cheering normally heard in football stadiums rather than snooker halls" but a lack of consistency and discipline meant that Higgins failed to achieve as much as his potential should have allowed.

Other media appearances

Higgins partnered Kenny Lynch in Pro-Celebrity Snooker on ITV in 1978. He was a guest on A Question of Sport in 1980, and on Give Us a Clue the following year. The 1984 series International Pro Celebrity Golf on BBC2 saw Higgins and Greg Norman play Lynch and Tom Watson.

Two video games with Higgins's likeness were released for Amstrad computers in 1985, titled Alex Higgins' World Snooker and Alex Higgins' World Pool. In 1987 he appeared with Kruger on the chat show Wogan on the day he had been fined £12,000 and banned for five tournaments by the WPBSA, appearing relaxed and saying that he accepted the sanctions.

He made another appearance on Wogan in 1991, to promote I'm No Angel.Template:Sfn According to The Sunday Telegraph reviewer John Preston, Like a Hurricane: The Alex Higgins Story (2001) on BBC 2 portrayed Higgins as "a wildly emotional and hopelessly insecure man: vain, fragile, peaceable enough off booze, a terror on it." Blood Sweat and Tears on RTÉ One in 2005 charted his career and featured positive remarks about from Ray Reardon and Steve Davis about him, despite their past differences. Higgins appeared in the Sporting Stars edition of the British television quiz The Weakest Link in July 2009.

Personal life

Remembered for his turbulent lifestyle, Higgins was a heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana. He had tempestuous relationships with women—both his marriages ended in divorce, and he had widely publicised altercations with other girlfriends. He was known as an unpredictable, difficult, and volatile character.

At the time of his 1972 triumph at the World Championship, Higgins related that he did not have a permanent address, and had recently lived in a row of abandoned houses in Blackburn which were awaiting demolition. In one week he had moved into five different houses on the same street, moving down one every time his current dwelling was demolished.Template:Sfn

Higgins married twice and had four children from three different relationships. In 1971, he met Joyce Fox and they had a son, Chris, in 1975. They separated six months later; in 2001, Fox told her son that Higgins was his father and they reconnected in 2003. In April 1975, Higgins married Australian Cara Hasler in Sydney.Template:Sfn They had a daughter, Christel, and their divorce was finalised in 1979.Template:Sfn In January 1980 Higgins married Lynn Avison in Wilmslow, Cheshire.Template:Sfn They had a daughter, Lauren, in 1980 and son Jordan in 1983. They split in 1985 and divorced. In the same year, Higgins began a relationship with Siobhan Kidd, which ended in 1989 after he allegedly hit her with a hairdryer. In 1990, he began a relationship with former call girl Holly Haise (a pseudonym of Laura Croucher, her real name). They split in August 1997 after Croucher stabbed Higgins three times during a domestic argument.Template:Sfn

Higgins had a long and enduring friendship with actor Oliver Reed, who appeared on This Is Your Life when Higgins was the subject in 1981. Higgins met Marianne Faithfull during the 1980s and renewed his acquaintance with her in 1992, then they spent the night together in a Dublin hotel.Template:Sfn

Higgins helped a young boy from Manchester, a fan of his who had been in a coma for two months, after his parents wrote to him. He recorded messages on tape and sent them to the boy with his best wishes in 1983. He later visited the boy in hospital and played a snooker match that he promised to have with him when he recovered.

In 1996, Higgins was convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old boy and was given a conditional discharge. Higgins later described the case as "a farce which should not have been brought to court". In total, he was arrested 17 times.Template:Sfn

Illness and death

Higgins reportedly smoked 80 cigarettes a day. He had an operation on cancerous growths on his palate in 1996. In June 1998, he was found to have throat cancer; on 13October of that year, he had major surgery. He could only talk in a whisper in his last years.

In early 2010, Higgins suffered from pneumonia and breathing problems, and on 31March he was admitted to hospital. In April 2010 Higgins' friends announced that they had set up a campaign to help raise the £20,000 he needed for teeth implants, to enable him to eat properly again and put on weight. Higgins had lost his teeth after intensive radiotherapy used to treat his throat cancer. It was reported that since losing them he had been living on liquid food, and had become increasingly depressed, even contemplating suicide. He was too ill and frail to have the implants fitted. Despite his illness, Higgins continued to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily until the end of his life. He was admitted to hospital again in May.

By the summer of 2010, Higgins' weight had fallen to 6.5 stone (41 kilograms). Despite having once been worth £4 million, he was bankrupt and survived on a £200-a-week disability allowance. He was found dead in bed in his flat on 24July 2010, aged 61. The cause of death was a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, tooth decay and a bronchial condition, although his daughter Lauren stated that he was clear from throat cancer when he died.

Higgins' funeral service was held at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, on 2August 2010. He was buried in Carnmoney Cemetery in Newtownabbey, County Antrim. Among the snooker professionals in attendance were Jimmy White, Willie Thorne, Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty, Joe Swail, Shaun Murphy and John Virgo.

Legacy

File:IMG 088 i 088.jpg

Mural of Higgins at the Royal Bar, Belfast

Higgins is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in snooker's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, and known as the "People's Champion" for his popularity and charisma, he is often credited as a key figure in snooker's success as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s, because of his exciting style and explosive persona.Template:Sfn Journalist Donald Trelford wrote in 1986 that "it was undoubtedly Higgins who first brought the money into snooker after his dramatic victory in 1972 and all the attendant publicity."Template:Sfn

In Steve Davis's Interesting: My Autobiography (2015), he wrote that Higgins as a player was "a true genius. Perhaps only Ronnie O'Sullivan has achieved that same style of mercurial ability since."Template:Sfn Higgins arguably fulfilled his potential only intermittently during his career peak in the 1970s and 1980s; the snooker journalist and historian Clive Everton put this down to Davis and Ray Reardon generally being too consistent for him. Ronnie O'Sullivan has called Higgins "the greatest snooker player I have ever seen" when he was playing at his best, while also acknowledging that his erratic lifestyle caused Higgins to have a lack of consistency on the table. Reardon had written in 1986 that "Unlike Steve Davis, Alex has a natural snooker brain. He sees situations and knows what to do in a flash. We can all see it eventually but he spots it immediately. Reverse side, screw, deep screw ... he created a lot of the modern play that you see today."Template:Sfn Similarly, John Spencer wrote that "Alex probably had the quickest snooker brain in the game."Template:Sfn Both Davis and Reardon felt that the number of titles won by Higgins was low considering his talent.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As of 2023, Higgins was one of the eleven players to have completed the "Triple Crown" of winning the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters.

Higgins made a 16-red clearance in a challenge match in 1976; it was a break of 146, with the brown potted as the first "red", and 16 colours: one green, five pinks and ten blacks.

In 2011, Event 8 of the Players Tour Championship was renamed as the Alex Higgins International Trophy. That year, Higgins was one of the eight players added to the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame in its inaugural year. In 2016, WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn announced that the trophy for the new Northern Ireland Open tournament would be named after Higgins.

Richard Dormer wrote and directed a one-person play based on Higgins's career, titled Hurricane (2004). Following performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, for which Dormer won The Stage Edinburgh Fringe Best Actor award, the production transferred to the West End and then toured the UK.Template:Sfn The professional rivalry between Alex Higgins and Steve Davis was portrayed in a 2016 BBC feature film titled The Rack Pack, in which Higgins was played by Luke Treadaway.

Performance and rankings timeline

Ranking history

Season	1971/ 72	1972/ 73	1973/ 74	1974/ 75	1975/ 76	1976/ 77	1977/ 78	1978/ 79	1979/ 80	1980/ 81	1981/ 82	1982/ 83	1983/ 84	1984/ 85	1985/ 86	1986/ 87	1987/ 88	1988/ 89	1989/ 90	1990/ 91	1991/ 92	1992/ 93	1993/ 94	1994/ 95	1995/ 96	1996/ 97	1997/ 98	Ref.
Ranking	No ranking system					2	5	7	11	4	11	2	5	9	9	6	9	17	24	97	120	72	61	48	51	99	156

Ranking tournaments

Tournament	1971/ 72	1972/ 73	1973/ 74	1974/ 75	1975/ 76	1976/ 77	1977/ 78		1978/ 79	1979/ 80	1980/ 81	1981/ 82	1982/ 83	1983/ 84	1984/ 85	1985/ 86	1986/ 87	1987/ 88	1988/ 89	1989/ 90	1990/ 91	1991/ 92	1992/ 93	1993/ 94	1994/ 95	1995/ 96	1996/ 97	1997/ 98	Ref.
Hong Kong OpenTemplate:Efn (Ranking from 1989)	Not Held									A	A	A	RR	QF	A	1R	A	SF	NH	3R	Not Held					NR	NR	NH	Template:Sfn
Grand Prix	Not Held												2R	1R	2R	3R	3R	A	F	2R	A	LQ	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	A	Template:Sfn
Canadian MastersTemplate:Efn (Ranking in 1989)	Not Held			SF	W	F	W		SF	SF	SF	Not Held				A	SF	A	LQ	Not Held									Template:Sfn
Asian Classic]Template:Efn	Not Held																		NR	QF	WD	3R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	NH	Template:Sfn
European Open	Not Held																		2R	2R	WD	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	NH	Template:Sfn
UK Championship (Ranking from 1984)	Not Held						SF		SF	QF	F	QF	F	W	F	3R	SF	2R	2R	2R	A	1R	1R	1R	3R	LQ	LQ	A	Template:Sfn
German Open	Not Held																									LQ	WD	A	Template:Sfn
Welsh Open	Not Held																					LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	A	Template:Sfn
International OpenTemplate:Efn (Ranking from 1982)	Not Held											SF	2R	1R	QF	3R	2R	A	1R	1R	Not Held		LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	A	Template:SfnTemplate:Snf
Strachan Open	Not Held																					LQ	MR	NR	Not Held				Template:Sfn
Thailand OpenTemplate:Efn	Not Held													A				Not Held		2R	WD	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	LQ	WD	A	Template:Sfn
Classic (Ranking from 1985)	Not Held									F	QF	SF	1R	2R	2R	QF	2R	3R	2R	2R	A	LQ	Not Held						Template:Sfn
British OpenTemplate:Efn (Ranking from 1985)	Not Held									W	RR	RR	RR	RR	SF	SF	1R	1R	2R	F	A	LQ	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	A	Template:Sfn
World Championship (Ranking from 1974)	W	SF	QF	SF	F	1R	1R		QF	F	2R	W	SF	1R	2R	2R	2R	1R	LQ	1R	A	LQ	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	LQ	WD	Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Non-ranking tournaments

Tournament	1971/ 72	1972/ 73	1973/ 74	1974/ 75	1975/ 76	1976/ 77	1977/ 78		1978/ 79	1979/ 80	1980/ 81	1981/ 82	1982/ 83	1983/ 84	1984/ 85	1985/ 86	1986/ 87	1987/ 88	1988/ 89	1989/ 90	1990/ 91	1991/ 92	1992/ 93	1993/ 94	1994/ 95	1995/ 96	1996/ 97	1997/ 98	Ref.
Park Drive 2000 (Spring)	F	Not Held																											Template:Sfn
Park Drive 2000 (Autumn)	A	F	Not Held																										Template:Sfn
Men of the Midlands	W	W	Not Held
Norwich Union Open	Not Held		SF	SF	Not Held																								Template:Sfn
Watney Open	Not Held			W	Not Held																								Template:Sfn
Scottish Masters	Not Held											SF	F	SF	SF	QF	F	QF	NH	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	Template:Sfn
The Masters	Not Held			QF	QF	SF	W		F	F	W	SF	1R	QF	QF	1R	F	QF	A	WR	A	LQ	LQ	LQ	A	LQ	A	A	Template:Sfn
Irish MastersTemplate:Efn	Not Held			F	F	W	SF		SF	SF	SF	SF	SF	SF	F	1R	1R	SF	W	QF	A	1R	A	A	A	A	A	A	Template:Sfn
European LeagueTemplate:Efn	Not Held													RR	Not Held		A	A	RR	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	Template:Sfn
Pontins Professional	Not Held		A	A	A	A	RR		A	A	A	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	Template:Sfn
Canadian Club Masters	Not Held				W	Not Held
World Matchplay Championship	Not Held					QF	Not Held																						Template:Sfn
Dry Blackthorn Cup	Not Held						F		Not Held
Holsten Lager International	Not Held								SF	Not Held
Forward Chemicals Tournament	Not Held								RR	Not Held																			Template:Sfn
Padmore Super Crystalate	Not Held									W	Not Held
Pontins Camber Sands	Not Held									W	Not Held
Champion of Champions	Not Held								F	NH	RR	Not Held																	Template:Sfn
Northern Ireland Classic	Not Held											QF	Not Held																Template:Sfn
Highland Masters	Not Held											SF	Not Held																Template:Sfn
Tolly Cobbold Classic	Not Held								W	W	SF	A	QF	A	Not Held														Template:Sfn
KitKat Break for World Champions	Not Held															SF	Not Held												Template:Sfn
Pot Black	A	RR	A	A	A	A	RR		A	A	RR	RR	RR	1R	A	1R	Not Held						A	A	A	Not Held			Template:Sfn
Belgian Classic	Not Held															SF	Not Held												Template:Sfn
Carlsberg Challenge	Not Held														SF	F	SF	A	A	Not Held									Template:Sfn
Kent Cup	Not Held																A	QF	A	A	A	NH	A	Not Held
Hong Kong Gold Cup	Not Held																			F	Not Held
International League	Not Held																			RR	Not Held
World Seniors Championship	Not Held																					1R	Not Held
Irish Professional Championship	W	Not Held					W	W	W	F	A	F	W	NH	F	F	WD	QF	W	Not Held		A	QF	Not Held					Template:Sfn
Tenball	Not Held																								QF	Not Held

Performance Table Legend
LQ	lost in the qualifying draw	#R	lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)	QF	lost in the quarter-finals
SF	lost in the semi-finals	F	lost in the final	W	won the tournament
DNQ	did not qualify for the tournament	A	did not participate in the tournament	WD	withdrew from the tournament

NH / Not Held				means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event				means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event				means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor ranking Event				means an event was a minor ranking event.

Career finals

Ranking finals: 6 (1 title)

Legend
World Championship (1–2)Template:Efn
UK Championship (0–1)Template:Efn
Other (0–2)

Ranking finals contested by Alex HigginsTemplate:Sfn

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1976	World Championship	Template:Flagathlete	16–27
Runner-up	2.	1980	World Championship (2)	Template:Flagathlete	16–18
Winner	1.	1982	World Championship (2)	Template:Flagathlete	18–15
Runner-up	3.	1984	UK Championship (3)	Template:Flagathlete	8–16
Runner-up	4.	1988	Grand Prix	Template:Flagathlete	6–10
Runner-up	5.	1990	British Open	Template:Flagathlete	8–10

Non-ranking finals: 63 (33 titles)

Legend
World Championship (1–0)Template:Efn
UK Championship (1–2)Template:Efn
The Masters (2–3)
Other (29–23)

Non-ranking finals contested by Alex Higgins

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Ref.
Winner	1.	1972	Men of the Midlands	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	2.	1972	Castle Professional	Template:Flagathlete	Round–Robin
Winner	3.	1972	Willie Smith Trophy	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	4.	1972	Irish Professional Championship	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	5.	1972	World Championship	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Efn
Winner	6.	1972	Stratford Professional	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	1.	1972	Park Drive 2000 – Spring	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Runner-up	2.	1972	Park Drive 2000 – Autumn	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Runner-up	3.	1972	Marrickville Professional	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	7.	1972	Ford Series Tournament	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	4.	1972	Ryde Tournament	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	8.	1973	Men of the Midlands (2)	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	5.	1973	Castle Professional – Event 1	Template:Flagathlete	Round–Robin
Winner	9.	1973	Castle Professional – Event 2	Template:Flagathlete	Round–Robin
Winner	10.	1974	Watney Open	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Winner	11.	1974	Castle Professional	Template:Flagathlete	Round–Robin
Winner	12.	1974	Ladywood Professional	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	6.	1974	Jackpot Automatics	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	7.	1975	Ashton Court Country Club Event	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	13.	1975	Canadian Open	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Winner	14.	1975	Suffolk Invitation	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	15.	1975	Marton Hotel and Country Club Professional	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	8.	1975	Benson & Hedges Challenge	Template:Flagathlete	7–9
Winner	16.	1976	Canadian Club Masters	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	9.	1976	Canadian Open	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Runner-up	10.	1976	Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (2)	Template:Flagathlete	0–5
Winner	17.	1976	Tony's Club Tournament	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	18.	1977	Canadian Open (2)	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Runner-up	11.	1977	Dry Blackthorn Cup	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	19.	1977	Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	20.	1978	Irish Professional Championship (2)	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	21.	1978	The Masters	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Runner-up	12.	1978	Castle Professional	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	22.	1978	Irish Professional Championship (3)	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	13.	1978	Champion of Champions	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	14.	1978	Suffolk Professional Invitational	Template:Flagathlete	3–7
Runner-up	15.	1979	The Masters	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Winner	23.	1979	Tolly Cobbold Classic	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Winner	24.	1979	Irish Professional Championship (4)	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	25.	1980	Padmore Super Crystalate International	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	16.	1980	The Classic	Template:Flagathlete
Winner	26.	1980	Tolly Cobbold Classic (2)	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Runner-up	17.	1980	The Masters (2)	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Winner	27.	1980	British Gold Cup	Template:Flagathlete
Runner-up	18.	1980	Irish Professional Championship	Template:Flagathlete		Template:Sfn
Winner	28.	1980	Pontins Camber Sands	Template:Flagathlete	9–7
Runner-up	19.	1980	UK Championship	Template:Flagathlete	6–16	Template:Sfn
Winner	29.	1981	The Masters (2)	Template:Flagathlete	9–6	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	20.	1982	Irish Professional Championship (2)	Template:Flagathlete	13–16	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	21.	1982	Scottish Masters	Template:Flagathlete	4–9	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	22.	1982	UK Championship (2)	Template:Flagathlete	15–16	Template:Sfn
Winner	30.	1983	Irish Professional Championship (5)	Template:Flagathlete	16–11	Template:Sfn
Winner	31.	1983	UK Championship	Template:Flagathlete	16–15	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	23.	1985	Irish Masters	Template:Flagathlete	5–9
Runner-up	24.	1985	Irish Professional Championship (3)	Template:Flagathlete	5–10	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	25.	1985	Carlsberg Challenge	Template:Flagathlete	3–8	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	26.	1986	Irish Professional Championship (4)	Template:Flagathlete	7–10	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	27.	1986	Scottish Masters (2)	Template:Flagathlete	8–9	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	28.	1987	The Masters (3)	Template:Flagathlete	8–9	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	29.	1988	WPBSA Satellite Tournament (Glasgow)	Template:Flagathlete	4–5
Winner	32.	1989	Irish Professional Championship (6)	Template:Flagathlete	9–7	Template:Sfn
Runner-up	30.	1989	Hong Kong Gold Cup	Template:Flagathlete	3–6
Winner	33.	1989	Irish Masters	Template:Flagathlete	9–8

Pro-am finals: 4 (3 titles)

Pro-am finals contested by Alex Higgins

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Ref.
Winner	1.	1975	Castle Open	Template:Flagathlete	5–2
Winner	2.	1977	Pontins Spring Open	Template:Flagathlete	7–4
Winner	3.	1979	Castle Open (2)	Template:Flagathlete	5–1
Runner-up	1.	1987	Dutch Open	Template:Flagathlete	2–6

Team finals: 6 (5 titles)

Team finals contested by Alex Higgins

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Team	Opponent(s) in the final	Score	Template:Ref heading
Winner	1.	1975	Ladbroke International	Rest of the World:Template:Bulleted list	England:Template:Bulleted list	+113Template:Efn	Template:Sfn
Winner	2.	1984	World Doubles Championship	Template:Bulleted list	Template:Bulleted list	10–2	Template:Sfn
Winner	3.	1985	World Cup	Ireland "A":Template:Bulleted list	England: Template:Bulleted list	9–7	Template:Sfn
Winner	4.	1986	World Cup (2)	Ireland "A":Template:Bulleted list	Canada:Template:Bulleted list	9–7	Template:Sfn
Winner	5.	1987	World Cup (3)	Ireland "A":Template:Bulleted list	Canada:Template:Bulleted list	9–2	Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Runner-up	1.	1990	World Cup	Northern Ireland Ireland "A":Template:Bulleted list	Canada:Template:Bulleted list	5–9

Amateur finals: 3 (2 titles)

Amateur finals contested by Alex Higgins

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Ref.
Winner	1.	1968	Northern Ireland Amateur Championship	Template:Flagathlete	4–1
Winner	2.	1968	All-Ireland Amateur Championship	Template:Flagathlete	4–1
Runner-up	1.	1969	Northern Ireland Amateur Championship	Template:Flagathlete	0–4

Straight pool

Pool finals contested by Alex Higgins

Outcome	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score	Ref.
Winner	1976	Australian Invitational Pocket Billiards Championship	Template:Flagathlete	200–98

External links

• Template:WST player
• Template:Snooker.org player
• Template:Trim/ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidata