Judd Trump v John Higgins live stream | Champion of Champions 2021 final preview

Judd Trump and John Higgins go head to head for the right to be crowned the winner of the 2021 Champion of Champions on Sunday.

Two of the game’s most decorated players do battle at the Bolton Whites Hotel, with a top prize of £150,000 at stake.

This will be their seventh meeting in the final of any event, with Higgins having won four of the six previous such encounters.

Although, Trump was a commanding 18-9 winner in the most recent at the 2019 World Championship as he completed snooker’s Triple Crown.

In fact, the Ace has dominated the recent head-to-head record, prevailing in each of the last nine showdowns.

The world number two – runner-up at the Champion of Champions in 2014 and 2019 – has breezed through to his third final of the popular invitational event.

After losing the opening frame of his 4-1 victory over World Seniors champion David Lilley, Group One winner Trump has reeled off a whopping 16 without reply; putting both Ryan Day and Kyren Wilson to the sword 6-0.

And he will be hoping this is the year he finally gets his hands on the trophy at the ninth attempt.

Also an ever-present since the tournament began eight years ago, 2016 champion Higgins is aiming to become only the third multiple winner after Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson.

The Scotsman, who beat O’Sullivan 10-7 in the showpiece five years ago, is appearing in a third successive final this season.

And after going down in deciding frames against Mark Allen (at the Northern Ireland Open) and Neil Robertson (at the English Open), he will be desperate to make it third time lucky here.

The four-time World champion’s run to this final is all the more remarkable considering he survived match ball against Ding Junhui in his opening match, before recovering from 3-1 down to scrape through 4-3.

He then ruthlessly put Ronnie O’Sullivan to the sword 6-1 in the Group Three final, before another deciding frame saw him edge out Yan Bingtao 6-5 in a thrilling last-four encounter.

The 2021 Champion of Champions final will be contested over the best of 19 frames at the Bolton Whites Hotel on Sunday.

Play gets underway at 1pm GMT with the opening nine frames, before playing to a conclusion with a maximum of 10 from 7pm GMT.

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