John Higgins predicts when he, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams will stop winning

The iconic Class of 92 have been competing at the elite level of snooker for 34 years, but the end has to come at some point and John Higgins has predicted when that will be.

Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams are the three legendary names in the class, with 14 World Championship titles between them.

All three are still firmly in the top 16 of the world rankings, with Higgins five, Williams six and O’Sullivan at 12.

Williams has already hit 51 years of age while the Scot and the Englishman will join him later this year, but they are still incredibly difficult to beat in their sixth decades.

How much longer they can compete with the best in the world is a question that has already been asked for years and Higgins think their demise is still not imminent.

The Wizard of Wishaw reckons the trio still have a few years left at the top, but when their mid-50s come around, things will start to slip, with problematic signs already appearing.

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‘I would hazard a guess it would be mid-50s,’ Higgins told Metro of how much longer the Class of 92 can continue. ‘Because I think Mark even says he’s beginning to yip a couple, and that’s what I’m doing. 

‘I’ve heard Ronnie speak about it, that he’s struggling to let go of the cue, and he’s not wanting to play the game. 

‘I just think once you get to 50, and then get into your mid-50s, I think your whole nervous system can begin to break down a little bit.

‘That’s what I personally think, because I’m feeling it, but I’m still fighting against it, and still fighting out there, but I think mid-50s, that’s going to be tough.’

Higgins beat Williams at the recent Tour Championship, when the Welshman mentioned the dreaded yips creeping into his game.

‘Overall, it was a struggle. I enjoyed it, but every time I have to hit the ball below centre with a tiny bit of pace,’ Williams told Channel 5.

‘I think I might have the yips coming on because I just can’t play them any more. I’m jabbing and anything that needs a little bit of power, I’m frightened to death of it.

‘It was something I was fighting all the way through. Not even long. Mid-range with a bit of screw on it, I wasn’t getting anywhere near it. Jabbing. Like I said, I feel like I have the yips coming on.’

Higgins feels credit for longevity should be extended beyond the Class of 92 to the likes of Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy, who are all still winning titles in their 40s, which was far from the norm in the past.

On defying logic with their staying power, Higgins said: We all are, I suppose. And I put the guys like Selby, Robertson and Murphy as well, because in previous decades, the other great champions, they weren’t really up there [at that age].

‘Whereas Selby, when he won in the UK Championship, Selby is still improving, and he’s 42. Barry Hawkins wins the tournament [this season’s Welsh Open], he’s 46.

‘Neil [Robertson] is 44. So for these guys still to be playing to that level, it’s great.’

O’Sullivan has had a lean spell for silverware over the last couple of seasons, but reached the World Open final last month and then won the Snooker 900 John Virgo Trophy at the weekend, so confidence is returning in time for a challenge for an eighth World Championship title.

‘I started playing alright a couple of weeks ago,’ said the Rocket on Sunday night after beating Higgins in the final in Ireland.

‘For three years I have been very poor, pretty much every day. So I didn’t think I’d ever have another day where I’d feel good.

‘But the last month I’ve been feeling alright. So it was nice to feel comfortable at the table.’

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