What a difference a year makes.
Twelve short months ago, John Higgins’ world was turned upside down as he became the target for a News of the World 'sting' which led to accusations of match-fixing.
Today, he is on the verge of lifting his fourth world title as the Betfred.com world championship reaches a climax in Sheffield.
As Neil Robertson was beating Graeme Dott on the May bank-holiday last year, the talk was that Higgins’ defeat by Steve Davis in the last 16 might be the last time the world number one would grace the game’s biggest stage.
The video evidence on show was damning enough for many people to reach their own guilty verdict and believe that a punishment in line with that imposed on Australia’s Quinten Hann in 2005 was inevitable.
However, after a lengthy investigation, an independent sports tribunal found the star not guilty of the more serious charge of match-fixing.
He did though serve a six month ban for bringing the game into disrepute.
Public opinion is still mixed, with posts on various social networking sites expressing a lack of belief in the verdict delivered last summer, and during the semi-final match with Mark Williams, a member of the audience was ejected for an outburst during play.
Nobody can deny that Higgins is one of the all-time greats and his on-table achievements since returning in November are remarkable.
He has won a European Players Tour event, the UK Championship, Welsh Open, Scottish Professional Championship and with one session remaining is just five frames away from victory in the game’s biggest event.
His achievements become even more impressive considering the fact that in that period, he has also lost his father, a larger than life character and a big part of the snooker world since John turned professional almost 20-years ago.
Only Judd Trump stands in Higgins’ way of claiming the trophy for a fourth time.
The Romford-based Bristolian will be looking to stop the rot which set in towards the end of the afternoon session. He lost the last four frames and relinquished a lead which he had held since frame nine yesterday.
The 21-year-old, who has been tipped for stardom for over a decade after learning his trade at Keynsham Snooker Centre under the watchful eye of Derek Curnow, has been a revelation in Sheffield since he beat defending champion Robertson on day one over a fortnight ago.
Despite trailing by one, it is likely that he will reflect on the situation with manager, Django Fung and realise that he is within just six frames of his first world title, and come out this evening with the same all-out attack attitude that has won him thousands of fans at this year’s event.
Whatever the outcome of tonight’s final session, it will be a fitting end to arguably the best world championship ever.
