Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Players Championship match.
John Higgins and Chris Wakelin will play in the Players Championship first round match, and for Chris Wakelin, it will be a huge match.
John Higgins
John is in great snooker form at almost 50 years old; it’s hard to believe that at such an age, Mark Williams and John Higgins are still winning tournaments and lifting trophies. This season John Higgins reached the final of the British Open, where he lost to Mark Selby (10-5). But after several defeats in the second rounds of tournaments and an unfortunate defeat at the Masters to Neil Robertson (6-5), he first reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open and then reached the final of the World Open, where he confidently won against Joe O’Connor (10-6). And at the age of 49, John Higgins became the oldest winner of a ranking event since Ray Reardon, who was 50. But the way John Higgins and Mark Williams are playing (Ronnie O’Sullivan is hardly playing now), we can confidently say that Reardon’s record will be broken next season.
Chris Wakelin
Chris Wakelin made it into the top 16 for the first time in his career this season and got into the prestigious Masters. Wakelin has already dropped out of the top 16, but this season has definitely already been the most successful in the Englishman’s career. Chris played in the semi-finals of the English Open, where he lost to Neil Robertson (6-1) and reached the final of the International Championship, where he lost to Ding Junhui (10-7). But the path to the final was very thorny; Wakelin defeated Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Xiao Guodong, so Wakelin proved his worth and ability to beat top players in several matches in a row. At the World Grand Prix, Wakelin lost in the first round to David Gilbert (4-3), although he was leading (3-2). And now Wakelin needs to beat John Higgins at all costs to get to the last tournament of the Players Series, because Wakelin is currently ranked 13th in the provisional rankings, and only 12 players get to the Tour Championship. So, for Wakelin, the match will not only be a pass to the quarter-finals, but also to the next tournament.
John Higgins vs Chris Wakelin Prediction
However, it is hard to believe in such a scenario; John Higgins is too good. Of course, we can remember how Wakelin beat Higgins at the International Championship (6-5), but John has only become better compared to that tournament. John beat Ali Carter and Kyren Wilson at the World Grand Prix and is now ready to reach his 148th ranking tournament quarter-final and break his own record, which he set a week ago. We think John Higgins will win confidently here.
