In terms of world titles in the modern era, Higgins is fifth behind Stephen Hendry (7), Steve Davis (6), Ray Reardon (6) and Ronnie O'Sullivan (6). His 31 career ranking titles puts him in third place behind Hendry (36) and O'Sullivan (37). Known as a prolific break-builder, he has compiled over 800 century breaks in professional tournaments, second only to O'Sullivan. He has also compiled 11 competitive maximum breaks tied with Hendry (11), placing him second behind O'Sullivan (15). Higgins has been world number 1 on four occasions.