Neil Robertson v John Higgins live stream | Players Championship 2026 preview
Robertson (right) and Higgins go head to head in Telford (Credit: PA Images)
Neil Robertson goes head to head with John Higgins on Tuesday in a blockbuster first-round clash at the Players Championship in Telford.
Two of snooker’s all-time greats – and two former Players Championship winners – do battle in the standout tie of the opening round at the Telford International Centre.
It is a tie that has been dominated by Robertson in recent years, with the Australian winning each of the last four meetings between the players (excluding the Championship League), including a 6-4 victory at this season’s Champion of Champions.
The Thunder is the top seed at this year’s event, aided by the £500,000 bumper prize he scooped for winning the Saudi Arabia Masters in August, while he was also a semi-finalist at the UK Championship and German Masters.
However, his World Grand Prix title defence fell at the first hurdle last time out, following a 5-1 defeat by Jak Jones in round one.
Robertson will hope to get back on track at the tournament he won in 2022, as well as being runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2019.
Coincidentally, it is due to the withdrawal of O’Sullivan that Higgins is appearing in the event, with the Wizard having been 17th on the one-year list following the World Grand Prix.
It is five years since the Scotsman triumphed at the Players Championship in such spectacular fashion in Milton Keynes, defeating Jordan Brown, Mark Selby, Kyren Wilson and O’Sullivan for the loss of just four frames.
Higgins will certainly be eyeing more of the same as he looks to build on his run to the finals at this season’s International Championship and Masters.
Like Robertson, the 50-year-old was beaten in round one in Hong Kong, going down 5-3 against eventual champion Zhao Xintong, so it promises to be an intriguing battle between two legends of the game seeking a return to form.
A showdown with either Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin or Wuhan Open winner Xiao Guodong awaits whoever prevails in the quarter-finals
The match breaks off at 1pm GMT on Tuesday and will be contested over the best of 11 frames at Telford International Centre.
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