John Higgins left snooker followers questioning about life with out the Scotsman after he teased his potential retirement on Monday.
The four-time world champion bowed out of the Tour Championship on the first hurdle, shedding 10-7 in Manchester to Mark Allen.
Higgins made seven half-century contributions and was stage at 6-6 heading into the final mid-session interval.
However Allen compiled a few centuries and a run of 93 as he took three of the final 4 frames for victory.
The Pistol is hoping so as to add to his tally of three titles from this time period that already contains the Gamers Championship from this collection of occasions primarily based on the one-year rankings.
But the speak of the city afterwards surrounded feedback Higgins made in his post-match interview reside on tv.
The 48 year-old, who has lengthy been pissed off together with his incapability to translate kind into extra silverware, offered a cryptic clue that the top of his profession could be close to.
“I believed Mark performed very effectively tonight,” John Higgins, the present world quantity 10, mentioned on ITV.
“I ought to have been in entrance right now, 4-4. Then I believed Mark performed higher tonight. I missed two or three unforgivable balls at this stage, you can not afford to overlook.”
“My lengthy sport was actually non-existent as effectively. At this stage, it’s not adequate in opposition to the very best gamers.
“I simply must mud myself down. [It’s] a few weeks earlier than the Worlds. Try to get some good observe, and go there and provides it a last go, perhaps.”
Whether or not or not the ultimate go he’s referring to is a final try at touchdown a fifth Crucible crown stays to be seen.
Higgins has under no circumstances been a spent drive in latest occasions, steadily showing on the latter phases of occasions all through this season.
Nevertheless, he has failed so as to add to his spectacular tally of 31 rating titles – adequate for third on the all-time record – since being topped the 2021 Gamers Championship winner.
For somebody who has been so used to having trophies in his cupboard, proper from the very starting of his profession, the barren spell have to be past irritating.
Higgins memorably misplaced 5 finals – 4 of them in rating occasions – in the course of the 2021/22 marketing campaign as he struggled to recover from the profitable line when seemingly answerable for title-deciding showdowns.
That, after all, got here shortly after he misplaced three World Championship finals in a row between 2017 and 2019.
Even somebody as esteemed because the Wizard of Wishaw, who boasts nearly 1,000 profession centuries, may have psychological bruises from so many painful reverses.
Bowing out on the high whereas nonetheless a member of the highest 16 can be a shocking solution to exit the game, if that’s what he chooses.
However snooker gamers are not any strangers to the specter of retirement, and it wouldn’t essentially be a shock if he backtracks on these feedback later both.
Allen, in the meantime, will meet Ding Junhui within the quarter-finals of the Tour Championship – their opening session going down on Wednesday night.
2024 Tour Championship Draw
Spherical of 12 (bo19)
Mark Williams (8) 10-9 Tom Ford (9)
Mark Allen (5) 10-7 John Higgins (12)
Gary Wilson (6) 10-8 Mark Selby (11)
Barry Hawkins (7) 10-8 Ali Carter (10)
Quarter-Finals (bo19)
Matches to be performed on April third and 4th.
Instances in UTC.
Judd Trump (1) vs Mark Williams (8)
Thurs, 1pm and 7pm
Ding Junhui (4) vs Mark Allen (5)
Wed, 7pm and Thurs, 7pm
Zhang Anda (3) vs Gary Wilson (6)
Wed, 1pm and Thurs, 1pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) vs Ali Carter (10)
Wed, 1pm and 7pm
Semi-Finals (bo19)
Matches to be performed on April fifth and sixth.
Instances in UTC.
TBC vs TBC
Sat, 1pm and 7pm
TBC vs TBC
Fri, 1pm and 7pm
Closing (bo19)
Match to be performed on April seventh.
Instances in UTC.
TBC vs TBC
Solar, 1pm and 7pm
Featured photograph credit score: WST