THE FACTS
Where is John Higgins vs Stuart Bingham taking place? The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
When is John Higgins vs Stuart Bingham taking place and what time does it start? Friday 27th April – 14:30 (UK)
What channel is John Higgins vs Stuart Bingham on? BBC & BBC Red Button / Eurosport 1
Where can I stream John Higgins vs Stuart Bingham? BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app / Sky Sport subscribers can also stream the match via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for John Higgins vs Stuart Bingham? https://www.cruciblesnooker.com/#section-tickets
THE STATISTICS
HEAD-TO-HEAD
All-time meetings: John Higgins 12-7 Stuart Bingham
Previous meeting: John Higgins 3-1 Stuart Bingham
THE LOWDOWN
JOHN HIGGINS
- Four-time world champion John Higgins made it through to the second round of the World Championship with a routine 10-7 victory over Mark Davis.
- The 43-year-old has had a decent time of it in 2019 with a 25-11 record but has reached just the one ranking final this season since finishing as runner-up in last year’s World Championship.
- John Higgins holds the advantage in his head-to-head record with fellow veteran Stuart Bingham on 12 wins to Bingham’s seven, but the Englishman has won their previous two matches.
STUART BINGHAM
- Stuart Bingham was 8-1 up against Grame Dott in their first-round match but was pegged back to 9-9 after the interval before eventually winning a thrilling deciding frame.
- The 42-year-old won the 2019 Gibraltar Open in a year in which he has played a staggering 60 matches and won 40 of them, losing his other final to Neil Robertson at the Welsh Open.
- Bingham faces a fellow former world champion in John Higgins, who he has beaten in three of their last five professional matches but is 12-7 down in their all time meetings.
THE PREDICTION
Last year’s runner-up John Higgins stakes another claim to win his fifth World Championship to draw level with Ronnie O’Sullivan, and will fancy his chances all the more after The Rocket’s early exit. He faces Stuart Bingham who came through a massive first-round test after almost capitulating on an 8-1 lead with plenty of time for both players to rest-up for this Friday's match. This could go either way, but history is on the side of The Wizard of Wishaw in this match-up.
