Alex Higgins - WikiHQ

Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion, remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, and known as the "People's Champion" for his popularity and charisma, he is often credited as being a key figure in snooker's success as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s.

After turning professional in 1970, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1972, defeating John Spencer 37–‍31 in the final to become the first qualifier to win the world title, a feat that only three other players have achieved since: Terry Griffiths in 1979, Shaun Murphy in 2005, and Zhao Xintong in 2025. Aged 22, he was then the sport's youngest world champion, a record he held until 21-year-old Stephen Hendry won the title in 1990. Higgins was world championship runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1976 and Cliff Thorburn in 1980. At the 1982 event, he recovered from 13–15 behind to defeat Jimmy White 16–15 in the semi-finals, producing a 69 clearance in the penultimate which is regarded as one of the finest s in the sport's history. He defeated Reardon 18–15 in the final, winning his second world title in 1982, ten years after his first.

Higgins won the Masters title in 1978 and 1981 and the UK Championship in 1983, where he recovered from 0–7 behind to defeat Steve Davis 16–15 in the final. As of 2023, he is one of eleven players to have completed a career Triple Crown. He won the World Doubles Championship with White in 1984 and competed alongside Dennis Taylor and Eugene Hughes on the all-Ireland team that won the World Cup three consecutive times between 1985 and 1987. He won his last professional title at the 1989 Irish Masters, defeating Hendry 9–8 in the final. He failed to qualify for the professional tour in 1997–98 and played his last professional match in August 1997.

Remembered for his turbulent lifestyle, Higgins was a heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana. He had tempestuous relationships with women—both of his marriages ended in divorce, and he had widely publicised altercations with other girlfriends, one of whom stabbed him three times during a domestic argument. Known as an unpredictable, difficult, and volatile character, he was often disciplined by the sport's governing body, most notably when he was fined £12,000 and banned for five tournaments in 1986 after head-butting an official, and banned again for the entire 1990–91 season after punching another official and threatening to have Taylor shot. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 and died of multiple causes in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010, aged 61.

Life and career

Early life

Alexander Gordon Higgins was born on 18 March 1949 in Belfast, the only son of Alexander Gordon Higgins, a labourer, and his wife Elizabeth (née Stockman), a cleaner; he had three sisters, Isobel, Ann and Jean. He was raised primarily by his mother because his father sustained a brain injury after being hit by a lorry. The family lived on Abingdon Drive in Sandy Row, a predominantly Protestant working-class area of inner-city south Belfast, and Higgins was educated at the local Mabel Street Primary School and Kelvin Secondary School. and he later began playing with more challenging opponents at the Shaftesbury and YMCA clubs in the city centre.

He left school in 1964 and worked as a messenger for the Irish Linen Company, but the job was short-lived as it offered few prospects, and the business was in decline. At 15, after spotting an advert for stable boys at Eddie Reavey's stables in Wantage, Berkshire, he left Belfast in the hope of following in the footsteps of his idol Lester Piggott and becoming a jockey. His employer later recalled Higgins as "a starved little rat from the slums". Around this time, he was appointed captain of the Mountpottinger YMCA snooker team. He defended his Northern Ireland Amateur title the following year but lost 0–4 to Dessie Anderson in the final. Higgins defeated world champion John Spencer in several exhibition matches, where he was given a start of 14 per . These victories, coupled with his rise in popularity (his matches were attended by as many as several hundred people), convinced Higgins to return to England and turn professional.

Professional career

1970s

Higgins settled in Blackburn, Lancashire, as it presented favourable opportunities for pursuing a career in snooker. His talent for the game was recognised by local salesman Dennis Broderick and bingo tycoons Jack Leeming and John McLaughlin, who became his agents and bought him a flat and some new clothes. McLaughlin originated the nickname "Hurricane", although Higgins would have preferred "Alexander the Great". Higgins applied to the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) to become a professional player, and his application was accepted in January 1970. He was initially a probationary member, meaning that he had to prove to the BACC that he could earn a living from playing snooker. By this time, he had worked out his strategy against the top professionals, noting that they were 'percentage players' and the way to beat them was to "attack with brute force and scare them to death". His sister Isobel offered to pay the £100 fee for entry into the 1971 World Championship, but Higgins declined because he felt not quite ready.

At the 1972 World Championship, which began in March 1971 and concluded in February 1972, Higgins defeated John Spencer 37–31 in the final to win the world title at his first attempt. He had won ten consecutive frames in the qualifying competition, defeating Maurice Parkin 11–3 for a place in the main draw. He had then eliminated Jackie Rea 19–11 in the first round, making of 103 and 133 during the match. Rea complimented Higgins on his performance, saying that "He does everything wrong. And yet he knocks such a lot in." (In January 1972, whilst the World Championship was still in progress, Higgins defeated Rea in the final of the Irish Professional Championship, a title that Rea had held for two decades.) In the quarter-finals, Higgins defeated former world champion John Pulman 31–23. In the semi-finals, Rex Williams established a 12–6 lead against him by winning nine consecutive frames; Higgins trailed until the 50th frame, when he was able to draw level and then pull ahead 26–25. The match ended with a , in which Williams was leading by 14 points but missed an attempt to the from its spot into a middle pocket. Higgins then compiled a break of 32, and after an exchange of play he potted the to clinch victory. Williams later commented: "That blue could have changed the direction of both our careers."

Spectators at the 1972 world final, held at Selly Park British Legion in Birmingham, were seated on makeshift benches made from wooden boards supported on beer barrels. There was a miners' strike in progress at the time of the final, and without normal power on the first evening of play, the opening session was conducted with dim lighting provided by a mobile generator. The scores were tied at 6–6 after the first day of play and 9–9 at the end of the third session; Spencer then pulled ahead in the fourth session to lead 13–11. Higgins kept pace and ended day three tied again at 18–18, this the half-way point of the match. He took the opening frame of the concluding session, Higgins was also the first qualifier to win the world title, (as of 2025) a feat only achieved by three other players—Terry Griffiths in 1979, Shaun Murphy in 2005 and Zhao Xintong in 2025.

During an exhibition match in Bombay, India, an inebriated Higgins was unable to play because of the high temperatures and proceeded to play shirtless, for which he was fined £200. Making his debut appearance on Pot Black in 1973, he lost his first game and stormed off the set; Ted Lowe, the former manager of the Leicester Square Hall snooker venue, who had devised the programme, persuaded him to return and complete his other games, but Higgins was excluded from the show for the next five years due to ongoing friction between the two. Defending his title at the 1973 World Championship, Higgins lost 9–23 to Eddie Charlton in the semi-finals. He blamed the defeat on having to use a new , as his usual cue had been broken a few months before the tournament. At the time, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) had scheduled a meeting to hear a complaint that Higgins had dropped out of a tournament after objecting to the lighting conditions. Pulman, the WPBSA chairman, declared that he welcomed Higgins losing because he had "dragged the game down". Higgins retained the Irish Professional title 21–7 against Dennis Taylor in February 1978. He secured the Masters title, the second-most prestigious tournament behind the world championship at the time, with a 7–5 victory over Thorburn. Having led 3–0, Higgins fell 4–5 behind, but went on to win 7–5.

At the 1978 World Championship, he led Patsy Fagan 12–11 in the first round but was eliminated after losing three close frames: the first on a , the second on the final , and the third on the final . He saw off challenges from Fagan for the Irish Professional title in 1978 and 1979.

1980s

alt=Steve Davis and Alex Higgins|thumb|upright=1.05|[[Steve Davis (left) and Alex Higgins in 1988. Higgins wrote in 1987 that, "Playing big match snooker can be as great a turn-on as sex. There's nothing more exhilarating than walking into a room bursting with people to challenge my old enemy, Steve Davis."]]

A few days before the start of the 1980 World Championship, Higgins lost the Irish Professional Championship to Dennis Taylor, having held the title for eight years. At the World Championship, he won a deciding frame against Tony Meo in the first round, then eliminated Perrie Mans, Steve Davis, and Kirk Stevens to reach the final against Cliff Thorburn. Sydney Friskin of The Times described the match as a contrast of styles: "the shrewd cumulative processes of Thorburn against the explosive break-building of Higgins". He also noted that both players had accused the other player of distracting them during the match. Higgins began the final playing the matchplay snooker for which he had been commended, leading 6–3 at the end of the first session and extending his advantage to 9–5. However, Thorburn tied the match at 9–9; they then drew level at 11–11, 13–13, 15–15 and 16–16, after which Thorburn won the two frames he needed to secure victory at 18–16.

Higgins was runner-up to Davis at the 1980 UK Championship, losing the final 6–16. He was the first player to win a second Masters title, beating Terry Griffiths 9–7 in the 1981 final after finishing runner-up to Griffiths the previous year. He lost to Davis in the second round of the 1981 World Championship. The same year, Souvenir Press published "Hurricane" Higgins' Snooker Scrapbook, an autobiographical work that Higgins had written in collaboration with Angela Patmore, having worked on the manuscript for almost a decade.

Higgins won his second world title in 1982. After eliminating Jim Meadowcroft 10–5 in the first round, he won the deciding frame of his match against Doug Mountjoy and prevailed 13–10 against Willie Thorne. He trailed Jimmy White 13–15 in their best-of-31 semi-final match, before taking the 29th frame and then compiling a break of 69 in the penultimate frame. Higgins had been 0–59 points behind but managed to complete an extremely challenging , during which he was rarely in good ; this is regarded as one of the finest breaks in snooker history. He faced Ray Reardon in the final; from 15–15, Higgins took the next three frames for an 18–15 victory, achieving a 135 total clearance in the final frame. A tearful Higgins summoned his wife and baby daughter from the audience to celebrate with him. He would have been top of the world rankings for the 1982–83 season had he not forfeited ranking points as a result of disciplinary action. Higgins released a country and western styled single in 1982, titled "One-Four-Seven", but it failed to chart.

He lost 5–16 to Davis in the semi-finals of the 1983 World Championship. Later that year, he reached the final of the UK Championship, where he trailed Davis 0–7 before producing a comeback to win 16–15 for his first UK title. After recovering to two frames behind at 7–9 and levelling the match at 12–12, Higgins had again fallen behind at 12–14 on his way to victory. Snooker journalist and historian David Hendon wrote in 2025 that Higgins had "demonstrat[ed] the heart for a fight that so thrilled audiences". On winning the 1983 UK title, Higgins became the third player—after Steve Davis and Terry Griffiths—to achieve a career Triple Crown. He wrote in 2007: "I knew I had triumphed in one of the greatest comebacks in snooker history. I was back on top, and nothing was going to stand in my way. – How wrong I was. This was just the beginning of the end." Williams and Gadsby wrote that after this win "his career drifted into a gradual downward spiral", and they commented that Higgins was to lose many more matches as he moved "from one crisis and scandal to another". The 1983 UK Championship proved to be the last individual title that Higgins won in the UK. At the 1984 World Championship he lost 9–10 to Neal Foulds after the pair had been level at 7–7.

In the 1984–85 snooker season, he lost 8–16 to Davis in the final of the UK Championship. Higgins and White won the 1984 World Doubles Championship, knocking out the holders Davis and Meo in the semi-finals before beating Thorburn and Thorne 10–2 in the final. He captained the Ireland team to their first snooker World Cup victory in 1985. In the final, he won two frames against Meo to take Ireland from 5–7 behind England to level at 7–7, then won two frames against Davis to clinch the title at 9–7. With his other results including runs to the semi-finals of the 1985 British Open and the final of the 1985 Irish Masters, Higgins earnt over £100,000 in prize money during a season for the first time. His break of 142 in the last-16 round of the British Open was the highest of his career. At the 1985 World Championship, he lost 7–13 to Griffiths in the second round.

Higgins moved up from ninth in the rankings in 1985 to sixth at the end of the 1985–86 snooker season. His best performance in a ranking tournament was reaching the semi-finals of the 1986 British Open where he lost 3–9 to Davis. In the 1985 World Doubles Championship Higgins and White lost their first match, 4–5 to Danny Fowler and Barry West. The Ireland team of Higgins, Dennis Taylor and Eugene Hughes successfully defended their title at the 1986 World Cup. He lost again to Griffiths in the second round of the World Championship, this time 12–13.

In 1986, Higgins split with his manager Del Simmons and signed with Framework, a management group run by Howard Kruger who also managed White, Stevens and Tony Knowles. Later that year, the four players and the band Status Quo released a cover of "The Wanderer" by Dion as a counter to "Snooker Loopy", a pop single featuring snooker players managed by Barry Hearn's Matchroom. At the 1986 UK Championship, Higgins head-butted tournament director Paul Hatherell after an argument; he was fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments, as well as being convicted of assault and criminal damage arising from the incident and fined £250 by a court. Griffiths beat him 13–10 in the second round of the 1987 World Championship,

By 1988, Higgins had been fined a total of £17,200 in his professional career. That year, he was dropped by Kruger and acquired a new manager, Robin Driscoll. In January 1989, he fell from the window of his partner's first-floor flat, breaking multiple bones in his ankle. He arrived at several subsequent matches on crutches and played while hopping on one leg. Later that year, Kruger's Framework management company was wound up at his instigation, with Higgins claiming that he was owed over £50,000. After Higgins had died, Clive Everton wrote that the money lost to Framework was "a financial blow from which [Higgins] never recovered." It was the last of 31 matches between the pair in tournaments; Davis won 25 of them. Hendon wrote that in the 1980s, "Higgins served as an unpredictable counterpoint to the reliable Steve Davis". Desmond Kane described the contrast as "snooker's technically and mentally unshakeable champion against the twitching, animated, epic sporting hellraiser Higgins". Davis said that despite the number of times they played each other in tournaments and exhibition matches, the pair were never close. He commented that "I used to be quite frightened of him as an individual. He could be quite vexatious. But on the snooker table, my admiration was immense." During his ban, he put together a biography video titled I'm No Angel (1991). He released a cover version of "Wild Thing" in 1992, in collaboration with actor Oliver Reed and the Troggs.

In August 1991, Higgins began his return to the professional circuit by registering for pre-season qualifying matches. Now ranked 120th in the world, he was whitewashed by 20-year-old Adrian Rosa and subsequently failed to qualify for another five tournaments. He reached the last 16 of the 1991 Dubai Classic but lost to James. He also reached the televised stages of the 1991 UK Championship but lost 4–9 to Stephen Hendry in the first round. Hendry claimed that Higgins had said "Up your arse, you cunt" to him during their post-match handshake; he reported the incident to the governing body, and the case was settled in a London court nine months later. Higgins was fined £500, bringing the total amount of fines that he had received as a professional to £23,200. He was heavily defeated 1–10 by Darren Morgan in qualifying for the 1992 World Championship, in a match described by Higgins as "surreal snooker ... never in ten years would I believe that result"; he demanded that he and Morgan take a drug test but later apologised.

Higgins competed in pre-season qualifying matches against amateurs, including former women's champion Stacey Hillyard. He reached the televised rounds of the 1994 World Championship, his first appearance in the of an event in three years. Drawn against fellow Irishman Ken Doherty in the first round, Higgins was defeated 6–10. The following year, during the qualifying rounds, he complained that the match referee John Williams was distracting him, not by standing in his line of vision but by being "in his line of thought", when he was on a break that had reached 103. When Williams refused to move, Higgins continued his break in tears, eventually making 137, his highest-ever in a world championship match.

Shortly after winning the 1997 World Championship, Doherty agreed to play Higgins in an exhibition match at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast as a benefit event. Doherty, who had idolised Higgins as a youngster, secured a 5–4 victory, and the event raised £10,000 for Higgins. At the end of the 1996–97 season, Higgins was ranked 156th in the world, at a time when only the top 64 players earned a place on the main tour for the following season. Other players could opt to join a "qualifying school" played over the summer of 1997. He then failed to appear at his next two scheduled qualifying matches, saying that he had been attacked with an iron bar; he had a sprained wrist and a sprained ankle.

Post-retirement

After his exit from the professional game, Higgins spent time playing for small sums of money in and around Northern Ireland. He made appearances in the 2005 and 2006 Irish Professional Championship, experiencing first-round defeats by Garry Hardiman and Joe Delaney, respectively.

On 12 June 2007, it was reported that Higgins had assaulted a referee at a charity match in the north-east of England. Higgins returned to competitive action in September 2007 at the Irish Professional Championship in Dublin, where he was whitewashed 0–5 by former British Open champion Fergal O'Brien in the first round. His autobiography, From the Eye of the Hurricane: My Story, was published in 2007.

Higgins played against amateurs for small sums; but he failed to appear for his match.

Higgins played in the 2009 Legends of Snooker but lost 0–2 to Cliff Thorburn and had a highest break of only 13. Thorburn went over to Higgins, who was looking unwell from the effects of cancer treatment, and embraced him after the match, later saying that he did not like to see Higgins in that condition and "We've had our differences over the years, but that's all gone now".

It is estimated that Higgins earned (and spent) £3–4 million in his career as a snooker player. He was a guest on A Question of Sport in 1980, and on Give Us a Clue the following year. He appeared on the 1984 series International Pro Celebrity Golf on BBC2, partnered with Greg Norman against Lynch and Tom Watson.

Two video games were released for Amstrad computers in 1985, with his endorsement, titled Alex Higgins' World Snooker and Alex Higgins' World Pool. He appeared with Howard Kruger on the chat show Wogan on 6 April 1987, just minutes after being fined £12,000 and banned for five tournaments by the WPBSA; Higgins seemed relaxed and said that he accepted the sanctions. He made another appearance on Wogan in 1991 to promote his video I'm No Angel.

In December 1997, he was featured in Alex Higgins: Rebel Without a Pause, which was aired in the Northern Ireland region on BBC1. The Irish Independent reviewer Vincent Gribbin complained that the show was a "40 minute paranoid rant" by Higgins. According to The Sunday Telegraph reviewer John Preston, Like a Hurricane: The Alex Higgins Story (2001) on BBC2 portrayed Higgins as "a wildly emotional and hopelessly insecure man: vain, fragile, peaceable enough off booze, a terror on it." The RTÉ One documentary Blood Sweat and Tears (2005) charted his career and featured positive remarks about him from Ray Reardon and Steve Davis, despite their past differences. In July 2009, Higgins was a contestant in the Sporting Stars edition of the British television quiz The Weakest Link.

Personal life

Remembered for his turbulent lifestyle, Higgins was a heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, He had tempestuous relationships with women—his two marriages both ended in divorce, and he had widely publicised altercations with other girlfriends. He was known as an unpredictable, difficult, and volatile character.

At the time of his 1972 victory at the World Championship, Higgins revealed that he had no permanent address and had recently been living in a row of condemned houses in Blackburn that were awaiting demolition. In the space of one week, he had drifted between five different houses on the same street, moving on to the next one each time his current dwelling was demolished.

He was twice married and had four children from three different relationships. They separated six months later; in 2001, Fox told her son that Higgins was his father, and they reconnected in 2003. In April 1975, Higgins married Australian Cara Hasler in Sydney. They had a daughter, Christel, and their divorce was finalised in 1979. He married Lynn Avison in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in January 1980. Their daughter, Lauren, was born in 1980, followed by son Jordan in 1983. and they divorced. That same year, he began a relationship with Siobhan Kidd, which ended in 1989 after he allegedly hit her with a hairdryer. In 1990, he began a relationship with former call girl Holly Haise (a pseudonym of Laura Croucher, her real name). They split in August 1997 after Croucher stabbed Higgins three times during a domestic argument. who appeared as a guest on This Is Your Life when Higgins was the subject in 1981.

In 1996, Higgins was convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old boy and was given a conditional discharge. He later described the case as "a farce which should not have been brought to court". During his lifetime, Higgins was arrested 17 times.

Illness and death

Higgins reportedly smoked 80 cigarettes a day. He had an operation on cancerous growths on his palate in 1996. He was found to have throat cancer in June 1998 He could only talk in a whisper in his last years.

Suffering from pneumonia and breathing problems, In April, his friends launched a campaign to help raise the £20,000 needed for him to have tooth implants, to allow him to eat properly and gain weight. Higgins had lost his teeth as a result of the intensive radiotherapy used to treat his throat cancer. It was reported that since losing them, he had been living on liquid food and had become increasingly depressed, even contemplating suicide. He was too ill and frail to have the implants fitted. Despite his illness, Higgins continued to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily until the end of his life. He was admitted to hospital again in May. Despite his £4 million career earnings, Higgins was now bankrupt and having to survive on a £200-a-week disability allowance. The cause of death was a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, tooth decay and a bronchial condition; his daughter Lauren stated that he was clear from throat cancer when he died.

Higgins's funeral service was held at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, on 2August 2010. He was buried in Carnmoney Cemetery in Newtownabbey, County Antrim. Among the snooker professionals in attendance were Jimmy White, Willie Thorne, Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty, Joe Swail, Shaun Murphy and John Virgo.

Legacy

On account of his exciting playing style and explosive persona, Higgins is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in snooker's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, he is often credited as being a key figure in the success of snooker as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s. Journalist Donald Trelford wrote in 1986 that "it was undoubtedly Higgins who first brought the money into snooker after his dramatic victory in 1972 and all the attendant publicity."

In Steve Davis's Interesting: My Autobiography (2015), he wrote that Higgins as a player was "a true genius. Perhaps only Ronnie O'Sullivan has achieved that same style of mercurial ability since." Higgins arguably fulfilled his potential only intermittently during the peak of his career in the 1970s and 1980s; the snooker journalist and historian Clive Everton put this down to Davis and Ray Reardon both being too consistent for him. Ronnie O'Sullivan has called Higgins "the greatest snooker player I have ever seen" when he was playing at his best, while also acknowledging that his erratic lifestyle caused a lack of consistency on the table. Reardon wrote in 1986 that "Unlike Steve Davis, Alex has a natural snooker brain. He sees situations and knows what to do in a flash. We can all see it eventually but he spots it immediately. Reverse side, screw, deep screw ... he created a lot of the modern play that you see today." Similarly, John Spencer wrote that "Alex probably had the quickest snooker brain in the game." As of 2023, he is one of only eleven players to have completed the "Triple Crown" of winning the World Championship, the UK Championship and the Masters. However, both Davis and Reardon felt that the number of titles won by Higgins was low, considering his sizeable talent.

In 2011, Event 8 of the Players Tour Championship was renamed the 'Alex Higgins International Trophy'. That year, Higgins was one of the eight players added to the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame in its inaugural year. In 2016, WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn announced that the trophy for the new Northern Ireland Open tournament would be named after Higgins.

Richard Dormer wrote and directed a one-person play based on the career of Alex Higgins, titled Hurricane (2004). Following performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, for which Dormer won The Stage Edinburgh Fringe Best Actor award, the production transferred to the West End and then toured the UK. He was featured in the 2021 BBC documentary series Gods of Snooker, and was the main focus of the first of the three episodes.

Performance and rankings timeline

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%"

|+Ranking history

! width=240 |Season

! 1971/ 72

! 1972/ 73

! 1973/ 74

! 1974/ 75

! 1975/ 76

! 1976/ 77

! 1977/ 78

! 1978/ 79

! 1979/ 80

! 1980/ 81

! 1981/ 82

! 1982/ 83

! 1983/ 84

! 1984/ 85

! 1985/ 86

! 1986/ 87

! 1987/ 88

! 1988/ 89

! 1989/ 90

! 1990/ 91

! 1991/ 92

! 1992/ 93

! 1993/ 94

! 1994/ 95

! 1995/ 96

! 1996/ 97

! 1997/ 98

| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Ranking

| align="center" colspan="5" style="color:#000000;"|No ranking system

| align="center" |2

| align="center" |5

| align="center" |7

| align="center" |11

| align="center" |4

| align="center" |11

| align="center" |2

| align="center" |5

| align="center" |9

| align="center" |6

| align="center" |9

| align="center" |17

| align="center" |24

| align="center" |97

| align="center" |120

| align="center" |72

| align="center" |61

| align="center" |48

| align="center" |51

| align="center" |99

| align="center" |156

| align="center" |

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%"

|+Ranking tournaments

! width=240 | Tournament

! 1971/ 72

! 1972/ 73

! 1973/ 74

! 1974/ 75

! 1975/ 76

! 1976/ 77

! colspan="2" | 1977/ 78

! 1978/ 79

! 1979/ 80

! 1980/ 81

! 1981/ 82

! 1982/ 83

! 1983/ 84

! 1984/ 85

! 1985/ 86

! 1986/ 87

! 1987/ 88

! 1988/ 89

! 1989/ 90

! 1990/ 91

! 1991/ 92

! 1992/ 93

! 1993/ 94

! 1994/ 95

! 1995/ 96

! 1996/ 97

! 1997/ 98

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Hong Kong Open (Ranking from 1989)

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="9"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NH

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|3R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="5"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NR

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NH

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Grand Prix

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="12"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|3R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Canadian Masters (Ranking in 1989)

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="3"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="9"|Not Held

| align="center" |

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="18"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NR

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|WD

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|3R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NH

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | European Open

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="18"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|WD

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NH

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | UK Championship (Ranking from 1984)

| style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="6"|Not Held

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;" |SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|3R

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;" |SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|3R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | German Open

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="25"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|WD

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Welsh Open

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="21"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | International Open (Ranking from 1982)

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="11"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|3R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="2"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Strachan Open

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="21"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|MR

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NR

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Thailand Open

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="13"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|A

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="2"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|WD

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|WD

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Classic (Ranking from 1985)

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="9"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|3R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="6"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | British Open (Ranking from 1985)

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="9"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|LQ

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | World Championship (Ranking from 1974)

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|2R

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|LQ

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|WD

| align="center" |

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%"

|+Non-ranking tournaments

! width=240 | Tournament

! 1971/ 72

! 1972/ 73

! 1973/ 74

! 1974/ 75

! 1975/ 76

! 1976/ 77

! colspan="2" | 1977/ 78

! 1978/ 79

! 1979/ 80

! 1980/ 81

! 1981/ 82

! 1982/ 83

! 1983/ 84

! 1984/ 85

! 1985/ 86

! 1986/ 87

! 1987/ 88

! 1988/ 89

! 1989/ 90

! 1990/ 91

! 1991/ 92

! 1992/ 93

! 1993/ 94

! 1994/ 95

! 1995/ 96

! 1996/ 97

! 1997/ 98

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Park Drive 2000 (Spring)

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="27"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Park Drive 2000 (Autumn)

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="26"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Men of the Midlands

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="26"|Not Held

| align="center" |

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="3"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | European League

| colspan="13" style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; color:#000000;"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Pontins Professional

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="2"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Canadian Club Masters

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="23"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | World Matchplay Championship

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="5"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="22"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Dry Blackthorn Cup

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="6"|Not Held

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="20"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Holsten Lager International

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="8"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="19"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Forward Chemicals Tournament

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="8"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="19"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Padmore Super Crystalate

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="9"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="18"| Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Pontins Camber Sands

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="9"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="18"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Champion of Champions

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="8"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NH

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="17"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Northern Ireland Classic

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="11"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="16"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Highland Masters

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="11"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="16"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Tolly Cobbold Classic

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="8"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="14"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" |

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="15"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="12"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Pot Black

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="6"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="3"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Belgian Classic

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="15"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="12"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Carlsberg Challenge

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="14"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:yellow;"|SF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="9"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Kent Cup

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="16"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NH

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="5"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Hong Kong Gold Cup

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="19"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="8"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | International League

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="19"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|RR

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="8"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" |

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="21"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#afeeee;"|1R

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="6"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" |

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="5"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|NH

| style="text-align:center; background:thistle;"|F

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|WD

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|W

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="2"|Not Held

| align="center" style="color:#000000;"|A

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="5"|Not Held

| align="center" |

|style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Tenball

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="24"|Not Held

| style="text-align:center; background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="3"|Not Held

| align="center" |

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:78%;"

! colspan="6"|Performance Table Legend

| align="center" style="color:#000000;" width="30"|LQ

| lost in the qualifying draw

| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|#R

| lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)

| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| lost in the quarter-finals

| align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

| lost in the semi-finals

| align="center" style="background:#D8BFD8;"|F

| lost in the final

| align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|W

| won the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#000000;" width="30"|DNQ

| did not qualify for the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#000000;" width="30"|A

| did not participate in the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#000000;" width="30"|WD

| withdrew from the tournament

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|NH / Not Held || means an event was not held.

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|NR / Non-Ranking Event || means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|R / Ranking Event || means an event is/was a ranking event.

| style="text-align:center; color:#000000;" colspan="4"|MR / Minor ranking Event || means an event was a minor ranking event.

</div>

Career finals

Ranking finals: 6 (1 title)

{| class="wikitable"

! Legend

|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"

| World Championship (1–2)

|- bgcolor="dfe2e9"

| UK Championship (0–1)

|- bgcolor=

| Other (0–2)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+Ranking finals contested by Alex Higgins

!Scope="col"| Outcome

!Scope="col"|No.

!Scope="col"|Year

!Scope="col"|Championship

!Scope="col"|Opponent in the final

!Scope="col"|Score

|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"

| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 1.

| 1976

| World Championship

| data-sort-value="Reardon, Ray" |

| align="center"|16–27

|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"

| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 2.

| 1980

| World Championship (2)

| data-sort-value="Thorburn, Cliff" |

| align="center"|16–18

|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"

| style="background:#98FB98"|Winner

| 1.

| 1982

| World Championship (2)

| data-sort-value="Reardon, Ray" |

| align="center"|18–15

|- bgcolor="dfe2e9"

| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 3.

| 1984

| UK Championship (3)

| data-sort-value="Davis, Steve" |

| align="center"|8–16

| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 4.

| 1988

| Grand Prix

| data-sort-value="Davis, Steve" |

| align="center"|6–10

| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 5.

| 1990

| British Open

| data-sort-value="Chaperon, Bob" |

| align="center"|8–10

Non-ranking finals: 65 (34 titles)

{| class="wikitable"

! Legend

|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"

| World Championship (1–0)