Alex Higgins was an iconic professional snooker player from Northern Ireland, best remembered for his quick and flamboyant playing style, his irreverent and often-irresponsible conduct and choices as a professional sportsperson, and his dramatic rise and tragic fall as a legend of the game. Known as the “People's Champion,” he was among the biggest stars of the televised snooker era, often credited for popularizing the game with his charisma on and off the green baize. Higgins’s fame and his TV audience base both reached their peaks in the 1980s, particularly due to the way in which he defeated the reigning champion and world number one Steve Davis in the 1983 ‘UK Championship.’ The match is touted as snooker’s “greatest comeback story” ever even to this day. Higgins won 20 titles during his professional career and was a two-time world champion. He also won two ‘The Masters’ events, making him one of only 11 players to have achieved snooker's ‘Triple Crown.’ However, he spent too much time carousing. Similarly, his habits such as heavy smoking, drinking, gambling, and the use of contraband drugs were a constant hindrance. These habits and the ravages of illness prevented Higgins from going beyond the qualifying rounds of the major tournaments later in his career. Gradually, he slid down the rankings. A stubborn man, he refused to change his lifestyle even after being diagnosed with throat cancer. He eventually died of multiple causes at the age of 61.