Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Scottish Open snooker match.
Barry Hawkins
It's a shame that players like Barry Hawkins and John Higgins will face each other in the second round of the Scottish Open. In the first match, both secured victories with the same score of 4-2. Barry Hawkins overcame Alexander Ursenbacher with a very solid performance, producing breaks of 130, 107, 82, and 79. Meanwhile, John Higgins defeated Ian Burns with breaks of 62, 55, 53, and 52. As we can see, Barry Hawkins excelled in break building, which comes as no surprise. Barry has been playing well and effectively all season, as has John, by the way. They both have made 16 centuries and over 80 breaks of 50+.
John Higgins
Both players have reached one final this season, but both were defeated. John Higgins lost to Mark Selby in the British Open final (10-5), and Barry Hawkins was beaten by Judd Trump in the UK Championship final (10-8). It is not surprising that both players are in the top 16 of not only the overall rankings but also the season rankings. John Higgins is particularly eager to win the Scottish stage of the Home Nations Series. John has reached two finals in this series and lost on both occasions. It would be quite epic to lift the Stephen Hendry trophy in front of Scottish fans.
Barry Hawkins vs John Higgins Prediction
Higgins and Hawkins have already competed against each other this season at the tournament in Belfast, where Hawkins won (4-2). The bookmakers rate the players' chances almost equally, and this is fair, considering both are performing very well this season, although Barry might be in slightly better form at the moment. However, over the distance in a best-of-7 match, this does not matter much, as the winner will be the one who adapts to the playing conditions better and faster. We believe we will witness an exciting match that won't end 4-0 or 4-1. We think the outcome will only be decided in the seventh frame, so we suggest betting on a total over 5.5 frames in the match.
