Out-of-practice Higgins fears early exit

For the first time since he was crowned Crucible champion last May, the 36-year-old has been putting in the long hours on the practice table. The Scot lost his appetite for the game after landing his fourth world title and admits a run of poor results this season have been caused by neglect of his talent.

At his best, Higgins is widely regarded as snooker’s greatest tactician and the meanest player when matches reach crunch point.

He hopes to regain some of the spark in time for his opening match in Sheffield this year, when he opens up the tournament on the morning of Saturday, 21 April, but leaving it late to prepare could be inviting trouble.

“Kicking off the tournament at 10am on Saturday morning, you can’t feel pressure like it. You don’t want to fall flat on your face,” Higgins said. “I don’t want to go out of the tournament on Saturday night, which can easily happen. You want to give a good defence of your title.”

The Wishaw player, who overcame Judd Trump in a classic final last year, added: “I’ve gone to World Championships before not feeling that great and I’ve managed to come through and win. I’ve done it from both ends, but to go there and win it this year would be amazing because my form has been nowhere near good enough. If I win my first game it could all change.”

The signal of doubt in the champion’s mind might not augur well, and the draw on Monday could throw up a tricky opener, with Stephen Hendry a possible first-round opponent should the seven-time champion survive a final-round qualifier on Sunday evening.

Higgins would relish that match, as he has never played his compatriot at the Crucible, but it would be demanding.

Speaking at yesterday’s tournament launch event in London, Higgins indicated he did not mind who he was paired with.

Seemingly any player would give him concern.

“I’ve always believed that you only get out of life what you put into it. I’ve only got out of this season what I’ve put into it, which is nothing really,” he said. “It’s not been nice going to the events where you know you’re not much of a runner.”

He added: “I’m not too confident, but I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been hammering the practice table this last week and I’ve still got time to sharpen my game up.”

Meanwhile, Barry Hearn claimed snooker is leading the drive to solve the global economic crisis as he vowed to make every player a millionaire.

The flamboyant World Snooker chairman has turned around the sport in the two-and-a-half years he has been pulling its strings. Previously, the sport revolved around six tournaments, but now there almost 30 on the calendar with the promise of an even busier 2012/13 season.

Hearn, also speaking at yesterday’s launch, is adamant hard work has saved the sport.

“This is the year that snooker went back to work,” he said. “These kids, these boys, these men, are playing better than they’ve ever played before. In the year that we’re trying to get the country back to work, snooker is leading the way.

“The only way to get around these problems, whether it’s a national or a sporting problem, is to graft, to go to work. You cure a recession easily if you start an hour earlier and finish an hour later. It’s not rocket science.

“That, as a country, is what we’ve got to do. As a sport, what we have to do is create events, give players more opportunity to earn a living playing their chosen sport. Pretty well all of them have grasped the nettle.”