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Nervy 'Wizard' loses his magic: Higgins dumped out by Davis at The Crucible



The frayed nerves which eventually eat away at great sporting champions afflicted John Higgins on Monday as he slumped to an ignominious 10-6 defeat to Mark Davis in the first round of the Betfair World Snooker Championship.

That is not a casual observation but rather the verdict of the 37-year-old Scot himself. Four world titles, it seems, are no protection against the accumulation of mental scars from a career spent vying for tournament victories.

It is certainly not an age thing given that Davis is three years Higgins’ senior but whereas the battler from Hastings is playing the best snooker of his career and still rising in the world rankings, the Wizard of Wishaw - Higgins’ moniker – is beginning to wield a less magic cue than in years past.



Uninspiring: John Higgins was beaten 10-6 by Mark Davis in the first round






Damage done: Higgins was 6-3 behind after the opening session of his first-round match






Emotional: Higgins at his press conference

The same could be said of 2002 champion Peter Ebdon who played so slowly during his 10-6 defeat to Graeme Dott, which required a third session and eventually finished at 11.30pm, although that could be blamed on paralysis by analysis - not a crisis of confidence.

Higgins said: ‘I don’t know if it takes the strain out of you winning continual big matches throughout your career, but you’ve seen it happen to other players. You just miss certain shots and you don’t know how you’re missing them.

‘Maybe you get to the end of your career, your late 30s or 40s and you just tend to miss those shots. Mark Davis is playing as well as he’s ever 40s played but maybe it’s that he’s never really been at the business end of tournaments to get the grey hairs that I’ve got.


‘That might be one of the reasons, but I was missing anything half difficult out there and that was just putting the pressure on me. I couldn’t cope with it at the end.’

Resuming at 6-3 behind, Higgins twice clawed his way back to a two-frame deficit on Monday afternoon but lacked the scoring prowess of his pomp to draw any closer. The Scot is now at substantial risk of dropping out of the world’s top 10 for the first time since 1996, when he was a callow 20-year-old.


Strain: Higgins admitted that the stress of his career at the top may be catching up with him



Moving through: Davis prevailed against the Scot and moved into the second round at The Crucible

Higgins will attempt to reverse his decline by seeking advice from former world champions Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis and by playing a reduced schedule to prioritise quality over quantity.

He added: ‘I’m maybe more technical than a lot of players and I feel as if I need to be working on my game more.

‘I’ll definitely have to look at the calendar and plot my way around it because I don’t think I’m doing myself justice going to a lot of tournaments.’

Since he won the Shanghai Masters last autumn, the Scot’s form has been dismal. He had suffered four first-round defeats in his last six ranking tournaments prior to the Crucible and is now at risk of dropping out of the world’s top 10 for the first time since 1996, when he was a callow 20-year-old.

POOMJAENG LIGHTS UP THE CRUCIBLE



Not many Crucible debutants take to one of the most feared arenas in world sport as charmingly as Dechawat Poomjaeng did on Monday. Not only did the 34-year-old Thai establish a 5-3 lead over Stephen Maguire, but he did so with a smile beaming across his face.


It began with his entrance, walking past the player's tunnel initially and then turning to the wrong table. So pleased was he with himself at laying one particular snooker that he even gave himself an extravagant round of applause.

The third player from Thailand to appear at the Crucible, after James Wattana and Tai Pichit, smiled his way through the match as the audience took him to its heart.

A late developer in the game, Poomjaeng is known as Jack back home.


'Everyone calls me Jack. In Thai I have a family name and first name but Thai people always have a nickname and I'm Jack,' he said.

The same applies for Wattana, born Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm and now formally named Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm. Former world number three Wattana has taken 70th-ranked Poomjaeng under his wing.

Sheffield-based Poomjaeng said: 'It's only the second year for me on tour and to be at the Crucible is very nice.


'James Wattana is like a big brother to me. We live in the same house - five Thai players in the same place. He's been like a teacher and when I came here he helped me with everything - speaking, taking me to places. I used to watch him on television at the Crucible - a long time ago.'

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