Ronnie O’Sullivan v John Higgins live stream | Saudi World Masters of Snooker preview
Higgins and O’Sullivan renew their rivalry (Photo credit: PA/Alamy Stock)
Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins go head-to-head in the quarter-finals of the inaugural World Masters of Snooker in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
The ‘El Clasico’ of the baize sees the two multiple World Champions lock horns for the 74th time in professional competition, with their era-defining rivalry spanning four decades.
Thirty years on from their first meeting in the Dubai Classic, the pair face off again in the Middle East, in what is the first professional tournament to be held in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
A staggering £250,000 top prize is up for grabs, in addition to a $500,000 bonus for an historic 167 break – which includes the unique golden ball.
O’Sullivan already has four televised titles to his name this season, mostly notably the UK Championship and Masters, setting up the possibility of a first seasonal Triple Crown as he heads to The Crucible in search of a record-breaking eighth World Championship title next month.
The world number one has handpicked his playing schedule in recent months, opting out of the German Masters and Welsh Open in favour of more lucrative events in Asia and the Middle East.
He did, however, compete in the Players Championship a fortnight ago and was on the receiving end of a 6-0 demolition at the hands of Mark Selby in the Quarter-Finals.
O’Sullivan returned to action in the Championship League last week before pulling out of the second day of fixtures, and he heads to Riyadh as the number two seed.
Higgins, meanwhile, received a late callup to this lucrative invitational event after the field was expended to 12 players.
The four-time World Champion took full advantage by whitewashing Qatar’s Ali Alobaidli 4-0, before dispatching three-time World Champion Mark Williams 4-2 later in the evening.
A consistent campaign for the ‘Wizard of Wishaw’ has seen him reach four ranking event Semi-Finals, including the Scottish Open and Welsh Open, as well as the Semi-Finals of the Champion of Champions.
His sole meeting with O’Sullivan this season came at the Shanghai Masters last September, where ‘The Rocket’ narrowly prevailed 6-5 in the Quarter-Finals on his way to claiming the title.
O’Sullivan has won 37 of their 73 previous meetings, with Higgins’ most recent head-to-head success coming in the 2021 Scottish Open Semi-Finals.
The match gets under way from around 8pm GMT and will be contested over the best of seven frames, with either Judd Trump or Shaun Murphy awaiting the winner in Wednesday’s Semi-Finals.
How to watch O’Sullivan v Higgins live stream
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