Mark Williams v John Higgins live stream | Tour Championship 2026 preview
Williams and Higgins collide in an epic first-round clash (Credit: PA Images)
Mark Williams and John Higgins face off on Tuesday in a blockbuster first-round battle at the Tour Championship between two all-time greats.
Two of the game’s greatest ever players – both Class of ’92 members and the last two winners of this event – go head to head in what promises to be an epic showdown at Manchester Central, with Mark Selby awaiting the winner in the quarter-finals.
Williams has prevailed from each of the three previous meetings between the pair over a longer distance.
They include his 18-16 triumph in the 2018 World Championship final, as well as his dramatic 13-12 victory on the final black in their last-eight clash at the Crucible 11 months ago.
Both men have continued to rewrite history this season. Williams surpassed Ray Reardon as the oldest ranking event winner at the Xi’an Grand Prix in October, while John Higgins became the oldest Masters finalist three months later.
Yet, Williams has struggled to kick on from his Xi’an success, with his best performance at a ranking event since seeing him reach the quarter-finals of the 16-man Players Championship.
His Tour Championship record is also a little inconsistent. Despite lifting the trophy in 2024, the Welshman has suffered three first-round exits, including last year as the reigning champion.
Higgins, meanwhile, is set to launch his defence of the Tour Championship title he won in trademark fashion 12 months ago, recovering from 8-5 down to beat Selby 10-8 in a thrilling final.
The Wizard managed to banish the demons of his heartbreaking 10-9 defeat by Neil Robertson in the 2022 showpiece – during which he surrendered a healthy 9-4 advantage – for what he described as his “best ever win”.
Higgins is certainly in the stronger form of the two players. Despite suffering an early end to his World Open title defence last time out, he has already reached the Masters and Players Championship finals in 2026, as well as the last four at the Welsh Open.
Whoever prevails from this best-of-19 extravaganza will face another mouth-watering showdown against Selby in the quarter-finals.
The match breaks off at 1pm BST with the opening eight frames, before resuming at 7pm and playing to a conclusion at Manchester Central.
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