The 2022/23 snooker season is underway, and as ever, all roads lead to Sheffield in the sport for the World Snooker Championship in April.
Swindon’s Liam Highfield will be doing all he can to qualify for the biggest tournament in snooker. He had made it through to the main draw in each of the last two seasons.
Highfield is ranked 39th in the World Snooker rankings. If he can climb up to the top 16 before the cut-off point for the Crucible, he would earn an automatic entry into the first round.
Before the World Snooker Championship arrives, there are lots of opportunities for Highfield to win a major event. He is 250/1 in the snooker betting to win the UK Championship, the first Triple Crown event of the season.
Neil Robertson, Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan top the outright market for the event in York, and they are likely to be the popular snooker tips. However, Highfield did once each the fourth round of the event, before losing a final frame decider to Mark Williams, so he is capable of a big run.
Former Talented Amateur Still Looking for First Pro Win
As an amateur, Highfield won two titles, with success coming in the International Open Series in 2008 and 2009. Since turning a professional in 2010, the best he has done in an event is to reach the last eight.
Highfield got through to the quarter-finals of the Indian Open in 2017. He defeated Boonyarit Keattikun, Yu Delu and Sunny Akani, before bowing out to five-time world champion John Higgins.
The former International Open Series winner is now at a career-high mark which will ensure he avoids some of the biggest names in the sport in the early rounds of tournaments. Highfield is also very experienced on the circuit. He rarely misses the main draw of events, so this season may be the time he makes a big name for himself.
Crucible Appearances Will Help
Highfield has qualified for the World Snooker Championship on three occasions. His debut at the Crucible came in 2018. He drew Mark Allen in the opening round, losing 10-5 to the Northern Irishman.
The Swindon-born potter made it through the tough qualification process for Sheffield in 2021. He was unfortunate to play the world number one at the time, Judd Trump. He took just four frames off the Ace in the Pack in his defeat.
Highfield was back in the tournament earlier this year where he put up a strong fight against Anthony McGill, a player who often reaches the latter stages of the event. He won seven frames in a 10-7 loss to the Scotsman.
The experience of playing in front of a packed Crucible crowd should really help Highfield on this latest stage of his career. If he returns there in April, he will be hoping he can make it through to the second round at the fourth time of asking.
Highfield is a player who remains open to improvement. A tournament success would do a lot for his confidence, and it could lead to many more titles over the next few years in the sport.
