"My best ever win": John Higgins wins 2025 Tour Championship title after comeback in high-quality final

The 49-year-old Scot remains third on the all-time list of the sport’s most decorated ranking event winners, but goes to within three titles of countryman Stephen Hendry who is second in those standings.

It has been a rejuvenating season for Higgins, who back in the autumn slipped outside of the world’s top 16 rankings for the first time in over 29 years.

The following week he made the final of the British Open to immediately go back into the world’s elite bracket, and last month Higgins lifted his first ranking event trophy in four years at the World Open in Yushan, China.

Just over five weeks later, Higgins pockets the £150,000 top prize on offer at the final Players Series event of the season, adds a new title to his bulging career CV, and moves up to number three in the world rankings.

Sunday’s final in Manchester was one of the matches of the season, and a record-equalling one, with eight century breaks made - matching the effort of Neil Robertson and Judd Trump at the 2019 Champion of Champions final for the most tons compiled in a best of 19 frames professional encounter.

The tournament’s number four seed Higgins won the opening frame of the final, but Selby responded with a 135 in frame two.

A four-frame burst from Higgins - assisted by breaks of 68, 102 and 102 - put him in control at 5-1 up, although Selby had the final says of the afternoon session, replying in style with runs of 112 and 136 in the final two frames to finish just two behind at 5-3.

On resumption a few hours later, momentum stayed with Selby as he took all four frames (breaks of 68, 55 and 77) of the evening’s first mini session to go 7-5 up.

‘The Jester from Leicester’ then made it seven in-a-row as an effort of 119 in frame 13 put him 8-5 ahead and seemingly on course for a 25th career ranking title.

However, as can be the beauty for these multi-session fixtures, the pendulum was to swing again.

From out of nowhere, Higgins won the next five frames - leaving his opponent pointless in four of them - fashioning breaks of 110, 67, 80 and 132 in the process (the 132 came in the final frame) to record what Higgins described in his post-match interview with ITV Sport as his 'best ever win'.

Having seen his four-frame advantage from earlier in the day evaporate, this achievement will be extra sweet for Higgins considering his painful experience at the 2022 Tour Championship final where he was 9-4 up on Robertson, but lost 10-9.

Next up on the professional circuit is the final event of the season, the 2025 World Snooker Championship.

The qualifying rounds take place at the English Institute of Sport between April 7-16 before the main draw, televised stages at the Crucible Theatre between April 19 to May 5.

On current form, Higgins will once again be a serious contender to win a fifth world title.