John Higgins

World ranking — 5

Earnings — £4,404,205

THE ever-reliable John Higgins’ hopes of a second consecutive appearance in the final of Premier League Snooker hang by a threat after a slow start in the tournament.

The Scotsman has struggled to find his best form this season and needs to beat Steve Davis if he has a chance to make it into the semi-finals.

He is currently ranked sixth in the competition’s table, just one place above Davis.

Since his pinnacle of winning the World Championship in 2007, Higgins has rarely found his best form.

With quarter-final spots in the Welsh Open and Honghe Industrial China Open, Higgins did build some momentum in the latter part of the previous campaign.

At Newport he beat David Roe and Ding Junhui before losing to Mark Selby, then in Beijing he knocked out Joe Swail and Mark King before Selby again ended his progress.

Higgins has won 18 ranking titles and made five competitive 147 breaks, including two in consecutive matches – one in the 2003 LG Cup final and the next in the first round of the subsequent British Open.

A devoted fan of Celtic, Higgins’ other hobbies include playing golf and poker.