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Higgins loses battle with throat cancer

Alex Higgins first won the World Championship aged 22 in 1972 © Getty Images

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Former world snooker champion Alex Higgins has died at the age of 61 following a long battle with throat cancer.

Higgins, who won the World Championship at his first attempt in 1972 and again ten years later, was reportedly discovered dead in his flat in Belfast on Saturday.

The Northern Irishman, who was a heavy smoker, had been suffering from throat cancer for more than a decade and recent pictures showed the 'Hurricane' looking worryingly thin and without any of his teeth.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest talents to ever play the game, Higgins helped to transform the sport in the 1970s and 1980s with his infectious personality and breathtaking shot-making.

Higgins, who was scheduled to play in the new World Seniors Championship in November, beat John Spencer for his first world title before overpowering Ray Reardon at the Crucible Theatre in 1982.

World Snooker chief Barry Hearn said Higgins would be remembered as the man who made the sport popular. "I have known him for nearly 40 years," he said. "He was the major reason for snooker's popularity in the early days. He was controversial at times, but he always played the game in the right spirit. We will miss him - he was the original people's champion."

Snooker commentator Philip Studd also paid a glowing tribute to Higgins, describing him as the "greatest of them all on his day".

"Charismatic, flash, fast, unpredictable, combustible - you just couldn't take your eyes off the 'Hurricane'," he told BBC Radio Five Live. "While he could never match the consistency of Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry, Higgins on his day was the greatest of them all. He touched the heights in 1982 when he won his second world title. He pipped Jimmy White to the final thanks to a break still widely regarded as the finest ever made.

"His tears of triumph after beating Ray Reardon - wife and baby in arms - remains one of snooker's most iconic moments. Without Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins snooker would never have become one of the most popular television sports in the 1980s and beyond."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.