Barry Hawkins vs John Higgins Prediction: A closely contested battle is expected

The first part of the semifinal encounter of the World Tour Championship will see Barry Hawkins and John Higgins battle it out at Manchester Central. The two players pulled off an amazing performance in the quarterfinal and will now hope to take a step in booking a final spot. Who wins this first part? I will analyse this game and offer free betting options.

Barry Hawkins

Following a shaky performance at this Tour Championship, which saw him lose consecutive matches, Barry Hawkins has now made it two consecutive victories. In the round ⅛, Barry Hawkins pulled off a 1-10 against Shaun Murphy, with Murphy's lone point coming in the third frame. However, the Englishman went on to defeat top-ranked Judd Trump in the quarterfinal in a 5-10 encounter, thanks to a solid second part performance. However, Barry Hawkins has won three of his recent matches, despite losing to Shaun Murphy in consecutive matches in the World Grand Prix and Players Championship. Heading into this game, Barry Hawkins has defeated John Higgins in their last three meetings.

John Higgins

John Higgins will hope he finds luck in this game following a poor run of performances against Hawkins. Since 2024, John Higgins has only one win in this fixture, coming last year in February in a 3-1 contest in the Championship League. In the meantime, John Higgins’ game against Guodong Xiao in the quarterfinal saw him pull off a 10-3 win. In that game, John Higgins showed resilience to score seven consecutive points despite being tied 3-3 in the seventh frame. In recent matches, John Higgins has won three matches, defeating Chris Wakelin and Guodong Xiao in the Players Championship. With just two defeats in his last 13 matches, John Higgins will feel confident heading into this game as he takes a step towards booking a spot in the final.

Expert Betting Tips

These are two good snooker players, and with the level of performance they showed in the prior games to these semis, I expect solid play from them. While the two players won by a huge margin in the quarterfinal, I expect them to bring their A-game here. However, this game is surely expected to be a close one, with the two players capable of winning. Yet, John Higgins is clearly the better player, and while betting on a high total of frames might be the best option, a win for Higgins is certain.

Our first option is over 16.5 total frames with odds at 1.72 1Xbet

Our second option is a win for John Higgins with odds at 1.90 on Bet365

Our last option is under 3.5 centuries with odds at 1.72 on Betway