John Higgins was heckled by a disgruntled snooker fan on his way to winning his fourth world title.
The ‘Wizard of Wishaw’ claimed the last of his World Snooker Championship crowns to date in 2011.
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During his run to the title, Higgins beat Mark Williams 17-14 in the semi-finals at the Crucible.
However, their encounter was not without incident which led to a spectator being shockingly ejected from the arena.
The incident occurred with Higgins leading 14-13 and at the table having potted a black to extend his break.
After his shot, a fan could be heard exclaiming: “How’d you swallow 300,000 John?”
Their remark was in reference to the match-fixing allegations made against Higgins the previous year.
Both he and his manager Pat Mooney were allegedly filmed agreeing to lose certain frames in exchange for €300,000 as part of a sting operation.
Although Higgins was later cleared of match-fixing, he was suspended for six months for ‘giving the impression’ he would breach betting rules and failing to report the approach.
In response to the heckle, the referee immediately ordered that the fan be removed from the arena.
The fan could then be heard continuing their abuse by shouting: “John, you’re a disgrace to snooker.”
The comments were met with boos from the rest of the crowd as the referee added: “Take him out, please.”
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Once the fan was eventually ejected, the rest of the audience applauded before the match resumed.
Meanwhile, one of the commentators said: “Somewhat unsavoury circumstances here whereby somebody is shouting things at John Higgins which no one wants to hear.”
The other simply stated: “That is outrageous,” in response to the heckles.
Higgins was not put off his stride, though, as he went on to win three of the remaining four frames to clinch victory.
The Scottish cueist would follow up the win by beating Judd Trump 18-15 in the final.
It secured his fourth world title after previous wins in 1998, 2007 and 2009.
However, he has failed to add to his tally in the 14 years since beating Trump in Sheffield.
During that time, Higgins has finished as runner-up three times, with each of his final defeats coming in consecutive years.
Between 2017 and 2018, he was beaten in the final by Mark Selby, Williams and Trump.
Meanwhile, this year’s tournament saw the world number four lose to old foe Williams in the quarter-finals.
