John Higgins (snooker player) title, which prompted Steve Davis to comment "I think John Higgins is the best snooker player I've ever seen in my life". Despite the victory, Higgins lost the world number one ranking to Mark Williams. Higgins had a poor 2011/2012 season, reaching only two quarter finals of major ranking events. His season-best performance was reaching the semi-finals of the Masters, where he lost 4–6 to Shaun Murphy. Before the start of his World Championship title defence, he admitted that his performance levels had not been good enough and that he had not been trying hard enough, managing just one or
John Higgins (snooker player) New Year Honours. In January 2010, Higgins appeared on the BBC's "Celebrity Mastermind", answering questions on his specialist subject "Dallas". He finished third equal. In February 2010, Higgins and his wife Denise appeared on ITV's "Mr. and Mrs." and reached the final after answering 9 questions correctly out of 9 to win £30,000. They donated the money to The Dalziel Centre – a day hospice for cancer patients, based at Strathclyde Hospital in Motherwell, of which Higgins became a patron after they cared for his terminally ill father. No Play-off. Title decided on league table only. John Higgins (snooker player)