Snooker star John Higgins breaks down in tears on live TV and has to be consoled by BBC presenter

Snooker star John Higgins struggled to hold back the tears during an emotional interview live on the BBC.

On Monday, Scotsman Higgins kickstarted his bid to win the World Snooker Championship with a 10-7 win over Joe O'Connor at the Crucible.

Prior to the event, there were doubts over whether Higgins would take part due to personal issues.

The four-time world champion missed media day on Thursday and also skipped the pre-tournament festivities such as the Champions Dinner and the Green Carpet Ceremony.

Higgins opted to stay in Scotland for an extended period to support his wife, Denise, following her father's heart attack.

Speaking on the BBC after his win over O'Connor, Higgins said: "That was a tough game. I thought Joe played great in the first session and I just managed to scramble out at 5-4. Tonight I played better."

The 49-year-old was visibly emotional and he broke down in tears before being comforted by BBC host Seema Jaswal.

Higgins went on to explain: "That was the most emotional I have ever been today. I left my wife and I was in tears.

"Obviously my father-in-law wasn't great. I was sitting having dinner with my boy last night and I was thinking about sitting here with my dad 25 years ago. I was drained today."

He continued: "I had a couple of hours sleep, I came out tonight feeling much better and definitely played a lot better. I am still so proud that I am still playing at a good level at this age."

Looking ahead, Higgins will next take on China's Xiao Guodong in the round of 16.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xintong looks to be the man to beat, that's according to Jak Jones, who was beaten by the Chinese player.

He said: "Zhao looked really sharp, the qualifiers have done him good, and I've had two best-of-sevens in the past 10 weeks or so.

"I kind of felt that out there, I didn't feel sharp at all. He put me under a lot of pressure, his scoring and long-potting was good and I think he'll be hard to stop."