On February 5, 2022, Beijing time, the snooker Champions League came to an end, and veteran Higgins eliminated Yan Bingtao in the semi-finals, defeating Bingham in the final, and winning both games 3-2. In the end, Higgins, who has reached the final five times this season, won his first title of the season, and he also qualified for the Championship Invitational Tournament.
The competition in the winners' group is fierce, with veteran Bingham ranking first in the group with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, and the only defeat was a 0-3 loss to Liang Wenbo. Another veteran, Higgins, also played well, and after beating Liang Wenbo 3-1, Higgins locked in the top four of the group. However, he was not in good shape in the final round of the round robin, losing 3-0 to Yan Bingtao and finally ranking third in the group, and Yan Bingtao rose to second.
Previously, Yan Bingtao played unsatisfactorily, entering the championship day with a score of 1 win and 2 losses, and in the last moment, Yan Bingtao won 3 consecutive wins, defeating Scott Donaldson, Graeme Dort and Higgins, and the score was 3-0, Yan Bingtao won 9 consecutive sets and played a high level. Liang Wenbo unexpectedly finished fourth in the group with a 3-0 win over Bingham, while Zhao Xintong was ranked second to last and was eliminated.
In the semi-finals, Liang Wenbo played against Bingham, because of the lateness, Liang Wenbo was awarded the first set, although he dragged the game into the decider with a 0-2 behind, but Bingham defeated Liang Wenbo with a single shot of 65 points to advance to the final 3-2. Yan Bingtao played Higgins again, opening with a single 135 points and taking a 2-0 lead, and Higgins then shot a single 56 and 76 points in a row, dragging the game into the decider. In the last moment, Higgins took the lead, but there was a mistake in the middle, Yan Bingtao chased 64-67, but there was a mistake when hitting the difficult powder ball, giving up the victory, Higgins won the decider 73-64, 3-2 eliminated Yan Bingtao.
The final was played between Higgins and Bingham, another five-inning battle, with Higgins hitting consecutive 50 and 82 consecutive points to take a 2-0 lead, and Bingham scored a single 110 in the fourth inning to drag the game into a decider. In the final moments, higgins seized the opportunity to beat world champion Bingham with 88 points to win the championship, which was his third time in the Champions League.
This season, Higgins reached the final five times and finally won a championship trophy, which also allowed him to qualify for the Championship Invitational Tournament and, of course, a relatively generous prize money. This title may release the pressure on Higgins to achieve another good result in the next game!