John Higgins has opened up about his six month ban – a narrative that rocked the game of snooker again in 2010.

Through the 2010 World Snooker Championship, the Information of the World newspaper ran a narrative on an undercover sting they’d carried out involving Higgins and his former supervisor Pat Mooney.

The publication filmed a gathering in Kyiv the place Higgins appeared to comply with lose frames in upcoming tournaments for a price of £300,000.

After an impartial listening to, the Scot was in the end cleared of match-fixing however handed a six-month ban for bringing the game into disrepute amid failing to report the method.

The four-time world champion has revealed that it was probably the most troublesome interval of his life each on and off the desk as he additionally handled ongoing well being points along with his father.

“Undoubtedly, surely (it was the toughest interval of my life). You didn’t know should you have been ever going to be selecting a cue up once more,” John Higgins stated on the Speaking Snooker Podcast.

“Your profession was within the arms of impartial committees, they usually have been clearly going to be taking a look at all the things.”

“You simply needed to put your belief in them that they have been going to return to the proper resolution, after which clearly it’s important to attempt to get your profession again on monitor once more.

“I nonetheless don’t suppose I’ve actually obtained over it, once I consider my personal life on the time and my dad wasn’t nicely in any respect. Aye, they have been powerful occasions.

“I’ve by no means been serious about being on entrance pages – I don’t know if I’d ever be well-known sufficient to be on the entrance pages anyway.

“However it all the time appears to be for the improper causes when individuals are on the entrance pages. It’s by no means excellent news in a approach, it’s all the time unhealthy information or perceived unhealthy information.

“I feel what it executed to my household on the time (I haven’t obtained over). I misplaced my dad afterward, and clearly it was a horrible sickness what my dad had at the moment.

“However there are some issues that clearly you generally suppose, if that by no means occurred, you don’t know if he might have lasted longer.

“That’s a troublesome half, that aspect of it. However that’s simply life, isn’t it? You’ve simply obtained to get on with it.

“I suppose in a approach I did have numerous anger, I’ve obtained to be trustworthy. Within the subsequent seven or eight months, there was numerous anger concerned.

“However I knew I couldn’t hold that with me, as a result of it simply wasn’t me as an individual. It wasn’t how I might in all probability go ahead.

“I do know individuals might have stated a number of issues, and that’s simply clearly what they have been pondering on the time.

“If you happen to’d had saved that anger form of inside you, it might have ended up breaking you. It could have ended up bursting you from the within.

“You’ve obtained to let that go after which attempt to be the identical individual you might be once more.”

When John Higgins returned from his ban, he produced the most effective sequences of type of his complete profession through the the rest of the 2010/11 snooker season.

The Wizard of Wishaw received his first match again in November, successful the Ruhr Championship by defeating Shaun Murphy within the ultimate.

A couple of month later, Higgins triumphed within the UK Championship with a exceptional combat again from 9-5 all the way down to beat Mark Williams in a decider.

An emotional success within the Welsh Open adopted in February wherein Higgins devoted the title to his father who had just lately handed away.

Higgins capped off a exceptional comeback by successful the World Championship crown for a fourth time, overcoming Judd Trump in a memorable showdown on the Crucible Theatre.

“Probably the most targeted I ever was – I felt in my entire profession – was once I got here again after my ban,” Higgins stated.

“I put all the things into the six or seven months earlier than the World Championships, after which my dad was actually poorly on the time.”

“That’s in all probability once I put my coronary heart and soul and all the things into these seven months. It took a hell of lots out of me actually.

“It will need to have been meant to be. You have been coming again and perhaps some good issues have been going to occur for you.

“I actually can’t keep in mind a lot of these seven or eight months. They actually have been a blur, they usually nonetheless are.”

Featured picture credit score: WST