John Higgins v Yan Bingtao live stream | Champion of Champions 2021 Semi-Final preview

John Higgins and Yan Bingtao do battle once more as they vie for a place in the Champion of Champions final on Saturday.

The pair lock horns for the third time in as many events, with the winner advancing to play Judd Trump in Sunday’s showpiece at the Bolton Whites Hotel.

Higgins has prevailed in the two most recent meetings at the Northern Ireland Open and English Open, before going on to reach the final of both events.

Meanwhile, Yan triumphed 10-8 when they clashed in the Masters final back in January.

Fresh from reaching back-to-back ranking event finals – losing to Mark Allen and Neil Robertson respectively – Higgins will be desperate to go one step further here.

The 2016 champion is appearing in the last four for the first time since lifting the trophy in Coventry five years ago.

Group Two was one of contrast for the four-time Crucible king on Thursday.

Despite recovering from 3-1 down and surviving match ball, he generally struggled to get going during his 4-3 win over Ding Junhui.

However, it was a different story when he faced old rival Ronnie O’Sullivan in the group final; the Wizard ruthlessly punishing the Rocket’s mistakes with breaks of 127, 94, 92, 86 and 63 sealing a thumping 6-1 win.

Meanwhile, Yan dropped just four frames as he put Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby to the sword in Group Three.

The Tiger hit breaks of 96, 88 and 78 in a 4-1 win over Murphy, while a magnificent 140 total clearance – the highest break of the tournament so far – was the highlight of his 6-3 triumph over Selby.

Appearing in his first Champion of Champions semi-final – and second of this season – the 21-year-old would love to claim the scalp of another former World champion here.

Play gets underway at 7pm GMT on Sunday with the match contested over the best of 11 frames at the Bolton Whites Hotel.

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