After being prematurely eliminated by Jimmy Robertson in the Round of 32 of the Gibraltar Open, John Higgins was delighted to have won £150,000 in the European Series.
Higgins tied for £101,000 with Mark Allen at the top of the eight jackpot lists in the European series. As the two had the same prize money, and Higgins and Allen had the same results at the Welsh Open and the Gibraltar Open, Higgins outperformed Allen at the penultimate Third European Masters, allowing him to beat Allen and enjoy an additional £150,000 bonus for the season.
Higgins, who was runners-up at the Northern Ireland Open and England Open, saw his hopes of winning the series grand prize dashed when he lost to Jimmy Robertson in the round of 32. However, the successive defeats of Allen and Rich Walton have finally fulfilled the veteran's outstanding performances this season.
Walton is the player most likely to win series prize money by overtaking Higgins in the final stages. If Walton wins the Gibraltar Open, he will not only pocket the £150,000 series prize money, but he will also squeeze Higgins into the single-season rankings to become eighth in the single-season rankings, qualifying for the Tour Championship and the Straight To World Championships. Unfortunately, Wharton lost to Karen Wilson in the decider of the semi-finals, and everything he could do at his fingertips came to naught.
Higgins thought he was lucky to win the prize money for the results of the Gibraltar Open, and at one point he thought Walton would win everything with his results.
Higgins said: "Being able to win the prize money in the end shows that I am a very, very lucky person. When I lost [against Jimmy Robertson] on Friday, I felt like I was missing out on a chance to compete. But whether it's from the results of the race in Gibraltar or to the results of other races this season, a lot of opportunities have accumulated to make me. ”
"When I left Gibraltar, Ritchie had just reached the semi-finals and his semi-final opponent was Karen. With all due respect, when I got on the plane, I was still completely optimistic that Ritchie (Wharton) would win the championship. ”
"I'm already thinking about what I'm going to say to Ritchie if he steals the bonus and tickets from me. Maybe it's 'I'm ready to jump off the roof of my house... But I'm really happy for you! But when I got off the plane, I received a text message from a player (well-known player, but can't be named) who said 'you lucky guy'. ”
"Some things seem to have been preordained, and he suffered a lot of unimaginable torture due to Ritchie's back injury. What an incredible experience it would be if he won a championship, a series prize, a spot in the Tour Championship and a qualifying for the World Championships. ”
Higgins will now travel to Llandudno, Wales, where his first-round opponent in the Tour Championship is Zhao Xintong. The tournament will be played in two stages, using a long-term format of 19 innings and 10 wins.
"I had convinced myself that perhaps I didn't deserve to lose my series prize money and tour spot, but I was very relieved to see the end result."
"I know that even if I can get a place in the Tour Championship, I will only be shortlisted as the eighth place, and the opponent in the first round will be the top seed of the tournament, Zhao Xintong. It should be a very good game, he (Zhao Xintong) will stick to his style of play, I am really looking forward to it. ”