Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins- The Peoples Champion Part 4

Higgins started playing snooker at a young age, often in the Jampot club in his native Sandy Row area of south Belfast and later in the YMCA in the nearby city centre. In 1968 he won the All-Ireland and Northern Ireland amateur snooker championships, before leaving Ireland for Clayton-le-Moors and the snooker halls of East Lancashire. East Lancashire had a thriving snooker scene and Higgins was keen to set up there so he could learn from some of the great players in the area. Alex Higgins (right) with David Taylor at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast, 1968.He turned professional at the age of 22, winning the World Professional Snooker Championship at his first attempt in 1972.[2] His opponent in that final was John Spencer. Higgins, at 22, was the youngest winner of the title until Stephen Hendry's 1990 victory at the age of 21. He once again reached the final, in April 1976, only to face one of most successful players of that era, Ray Reardon. Higgins led 11-9 but Reardon made four centuries and seven breaks over 60 to pull away and win the title for the fifth time by 27-16. Higgins was also runner-up to Cliff Thorburn in 1980, when looking strong favourite to win at 9-5 up before losing narrowly 18-16. However, he won his second title in 1982 after beating Reardon 18-15 (with a 135 total clearance in the final frame); it was an emotional as well as professional victory for him. He would have been ranked #1 in the world rankings for the 1982/83 season but for the forfeit of ranking points following disciplinary action.Higgins' quickness around the table and flamboyant style earned him the nickname "Hurricane Higgins", and made him a high-profile player. His highly unusual technique sometimes included a body swerve and movement when cueing, as well as a stance that was higher than for most professionals. While Higgins was arguably a classic example of how not to cue, he nevertheless managed to pot balls at a rapid rate. He also drank and smoked during tournaments, as did many of his contemporaries, helping sponsored tobacco advertising. A volatile personality got him into frequent fights and arguments, both on and off the snooker table. One of the most serious of these clashes was when he head-butted a tournament official at the UK championship in 1986. This led to a year's ban from snooker. Higgins is now semi-retired and battles throat cancer periodically. He made appearances in the 2005 and 2006 Irish Professional Championships; the comebacks ending in a first-round defeat by Garry Hardiman in 2005 and a similar first round defeat to Joe Delaney in 2006.His very unorthodox yet effective play is perhaps best encapsulated in his break of 69, made under unusual pressure, against Jimmy White in the penultimate frame of their World Professional Snooker Championship semi-final in 1982. Higgins was 0-59 down in that frame and probably one ball away from going out, but managed to compile an extremely challenging clearance during which he was scarcely in position until the colours. In particular, former world champion Dennis Taylor considers a three-quarter-ball pot on a blue into the green pocket especially memorable, not only for its extreme degree of difficulty but for enabling Higgins to continue the break and keep White off the table and unable to clinch victory at that moment. In potting the blue, Higgins screwed the cue-ball on to the side cushion to bring it back towards the black/pink area with extreme left-hand sidespin, a shot Taylor believes could be played 100 times without coming close to the position Higgins reached with cue-ball (he arguably went too far for ideal position on his next red but the match-saving break was still alive).

Keywords: 1982, Alex, break, century, champion, frame, Higgins, history, hurricane, interview, legend, peoples, Snooker, world