John Higgins will defend his British Open crown after 17 YEARS when the event returns to the snooker calendar next month.
The famous tournament was a prestigious event on the snooker tour for over three decades but it was wiped from the programme in favour of ‘fresher’ events.
Wishaw ace Higgins was victorious in the last British Open final back in 2004 when he defeated fellow Scot Stephen Maguire 9-5 in the final in Brighton.
The 46-year-old will be hoping to replicate that success in the second World Snooker Tour ranking event of the season between Monday, August 16 and Sunday, August 22.
A modern format has been introduced which will see 128 players compete in a more streamlined competition to add excitement.
Organisers hope it will be more of a shootout with the first four rounds played over the best-of-five frames, the quarter-finals and semi-finals over seven frames and the final will be decided over 11 frames.
There will also be no seeded draws in the early rounds which throws up the prospect of two of the best players in the world meeting early in the tournament.
Higgins’ last outing was the disappointing defeat to fellow veteran Mark Williams in the World Championships back in April.
The wizard of Wishaw couldn’t replicate his form that he showed earlier in the season as he lost 13-7 to the Welshman.
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