Players Championship 2025: John Higgins bids to end seven years of torment against Judd Trump – 'Big second favourite'
By Desmond Kane
Updated 22/03/2025 at 13:24 GMT
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John Higgins defeated Judd Trump 6-4 in their first meeting in the semi-finals of the 2008 Grand Prix in Glasgow, but the man dubbed the 'Wizard of Wishaw' has endured a curiously barren record in recent meetings. Indeed, Higgins goes into the Players Championship semi-finals in Telford on Saturday night without a win over the world No. 1 in a ranking event in 11 matches, spanning seven years.
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John Higgins feels he will be "a big second favourite" as he chases his first win over world No. 1 Judd Trump in a ranking event since 2018.
Trump is 19-14 clear in the career head-to-heads, buoyed by 11 straight victories over the Scotsman since Higgins completed a 5-3 success in the quarter-finals of the 2018 China Championship in Guangzhou.
Trump's formidable winning run against Higgins includes final-frame 6-5 victories in the last 16 of the 2024 UK Championship, the semi-finals of the 2023 English Open, the semi-finals of the 2023 European Masters and the semi-finals of the 2019 World Open.
Higgins did edge Trump 5-4 in the quarter-finals of the invitational Hong Kong Masters in 2022, with Trump completing a 10-4 win in the final of the 2021 Champion of Champions.
But the winless run also includes the 2019 World Championship final that saw Trump complete an 18-9 victory over the four-time Crucible winner in a memorable scoring exhibition which produced a record 11 centuries.
"It is always an incredible occasion against him, and always a game I cherish," said Trump before their meeting at the European Masters in 2023.
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"The games always seem to be pretty close. Whoever plays their best snooker normally comes out on top, and it is always a great standard.
"Some of the best games I’ve ever been involved with have been against him and probably some of the best of all time."
Trump predictably starts as a strong bookmakers' favourite as he chases a spot in the final against Kyren Wilson, who edged Neil Robertson 6-5 in the opening semi-final on Friday night.
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"I’ll be second favourite, maybe a big second favourite," said the four-time world champion on World Snooker Tour.
"I think I’ll go into it relaxed, knowing that I’ve got to play well to have a chance.
"Even then, it doesn’t guarantee winning. I can’t wait to go out there and give it my all."
Higgins ended a four-year wait for a ranking title with a 10-6 win over Joe O'Connor at the World Open in Yushan earlier this month before losing 5-3 to Shaun Murphy in the last eight of the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
He continued his 2025 resurgence with two gruelling 6-5 wins over Chris Wakelin and Xiao Guodong, having trailed by several frames in both matches.
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'What a thing to happen' - Higgins wows crowd with extraordinary shot against Trump
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But Trump looks to be in peak form ahead of their latest duel after completing a 6-0 whitewash of Murphy in the quarter-finals with runs of 101, 77, 66, 65 and 55, restricting the Masters champion to only 40 points in the match.
It is a daunting challenge, but not impossible with Stuart Bingham managing to upset Trump 6-3 in the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix after a similarly inspired 5-0 whitewash of Hossein Vafaei.
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