20/03/00: With the World Championship looming large on the horizon, John Higgins will be looking to this week's Benson and Hedges Irish Masters to breathe life into his ailing season.

But omens are not good for the Scot, who captured the game's most important title at the Crucible in 1998, but has never done himself justice on four previous visits to Goffs.

In fact, Higgins has managed to win only one of five Irish Masters matches since making his debut at the lucrative event in 1996.

Add to that a depressing run of results over the past two months, and it is easy to see why his chances of shattering the hoodoo this time are not regarded as promising.

Since lifting the Regal Welsh Open trophy in late January, Higgins has endured one of the least productive spells of his career.

The 25-year-old made an immediate exit from the B&H Masters at Wembley, following a terrible performance against Jimmy White, was beaten by fellow countryman Billy Snaddon in the first round of the recent Thailand Masters and also lost 5-3 to Hong Kong's Marco Fu in the Premier League on Sunday.

"I can't put my finger on why but I've got no confidence at all," said Higgins, before embarking on the return leg of his fruitless journey to Bangkok.

"Instead of just getting frames tucked away, I keep thinking about all the things that can go wrong. Considering I've won the Regal Welsh and the Grand Prix this season I should be flying, but I'm really struggling. I hope things turn around soon.

With 12 of the game's leading exponents gathered in County Kildare it will take a vast improvement for Higgins to rebuild his fragile confidence.

As the tournament's second seed, behind defending champion Stephen Hendry, Higgins is automatically through to the quarter-finals where he awaits the winner of the first-round encounter between Stephen Lee, last year's runner-up, and Jimmy White.

Hendry, without a tournament win since spectacularly opening the campaign with back-to-back victories at the Liverpool Victoria Champions Cup and British Open, tackles Alan McManus or Fergal O'Brien in the quarter-finals.

Mark Williams, who beat Hendry 9-5 in the Thailand Masters final nine days ago, faces John Parrott or eight-times Irish Masters champion Steve Davis, while Ronnie O'Sullivan plays Matthew Stevens or local hero Ken Doherty.

Stevens, who edged Doherty 10-8 in a thrilling final of the Masters at Wembley back in February, is attempting to complete a unique hat-trick of invitation event successes after also prevailing at this season's Regal Scottish Masters.-PA