Judd Trump v John Higgins live stream | Shanghai Masters 2026 preview
Trump (right) and Higgins do battle in Shanghai (Credit: PA Images)
Judd Trump looks to avert a third straight defeat by John Higgins when they lock horns in a mouth-watering Shanghai Masters quarter-final.
In one of four blockbuster battles in this year’s last eight, the friendly foes renew their rivalry for the third time already in 2026.
Higgins is aiming to complete a hat-trick of successive wins following his 6-5 victories at the Masters and Players Championship, having lost 14 of the previous 15.
That has levelled the overall head-to-head record (28-28), which has seen the contest the 2011 World Championship final, as well as the following year’s Shanghai Masters showpiece.
There, Higgins trailed 7-2, but hit a maximum break as he completed a trademark fightback to eventually prevail a dramatic 10-9 winner.
Trump was also a beaten finalist in 2015 and 2017, but finally added his name to the roll of honour in Shanghai two years ago.
The Ace endured a generally modest 2025-26 season by his standards, with his sole success of the campaign coming at the German Masters.
Nevertheless, he made a purposeful start to 2026-27, hitting breaks of 138, 106 and 81 on the way to a 6-4 victory over fellow left-hander Barry Hawkins.
Higgins, meanwhile, began his 35th successive season on the World Snooker Tour with a dramatic showdown against Trump’s good friend Jack Lisowski.
The latter threatened to clear for victory on the final black in their second-round clash, only to run out of position, and subsequently leave it for the Scotsman to knock in from distance.
Also a two-time semi-finalist in Shanghai, in 2009 and 2017, Higgins was runner-up in three events last season – at the International Championship, Masters and Players Championship. The four-time World champion will be hoping for more deep runs and, ultimately, go the extra step this term.
It promises to be another thrilling battle between the pair, with a semi-final showdown against either Wu Yize or Shaun Murphy on offer to the winner.
The match breaks off at 12.30pm BST (7.30pm local time) on Thursday and will be contested over the best of 11 frames at Luwan Indoor Stadium.
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