Trump v Higgins: Tale of the Tape

All the key stats ahead of the Betfred World Championship final between Judd Trump and John Higgins. It’s first to 18 frames on Sunday and Monday.

The champion will receive £500,000, the biggest prize in snooker history, while the runner-up will bank £200,000.

115,065 shots have been played in the tournament (including the qualifying rounds).

Higgins leads the head-to-head record 13-7. This is a repeat of the 2011 Crucible final which Higgins won 18-15, and he also got the upper hand when they met in the quarter-finals last year, winning 13-12.

Higgins is playing in his eighth Crucible final, matching Steve Davis’s total. Only Stephen Hendry, with nine finals, has played in more.

Wishaw’s Higgins turns 44 later this month. If he takes the trophy he’ll be the oldest winner since Ray Reardon who was 45 when he wore the crown in 1978.

Higgins is aiming for his fifth world title, having won it in 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2011. That would bring him level with Ronnie O’Sullivan, one behind Davis and two behind Hendry. The Scot has lost in the last two finals, beaten 18-15 by Mark Selby in 2017 and 18-16 by Mark Williams last year.

Higgins is playing in his 50th ranking final. He has won 30 of the previous 49. His last ranking title came at the 2018 Welsh Open. This season he has reached just one other final – at the 2018 China Championship when he lost 10-9 to Selby. He is aiming for his tenth Triple Crown title.

If Higgins wins the final he will finish the season second in the world rankings, behind O’Sullivan. If he loses he will be fifth. Trump will be second if he wins, third if he loses.

If Trump wins the final he will become the first player to earn over £1 million in a season, as his total would go to £1,098,400.

The 29-year-old from Bristol is aiming to win his first world title. Victory would make him the 21st champion of the Crucible era. He is playing in his second final having lost to Higgins in 2011.

Trump has already had the best season of his career, having won ranking titles at the Northern Ireland Open and World Grand Prix as well as his second Triple Crown title at the Masters. He could become the first player to win the Masters and World titles in the same season since Mark Williams in 2003. The only other players to complete that double are Davis and Hendry.

Trump is playing in his 20th ranking final, having won ten of his previous 19.

Trump has made seven centuries during the tournament with a top break of 141. Higgins has made eight centuries with a top break of 143. This season, Trump has made 76 centuries at a rate of one every 8.54 frames.  Higgins has made 28 at a rate of one every 16.79 frames.

Trump had conceded 35 frames on his way to the final, while Higgins has lost 44.

Higgins’ average shot time during the tournament is 25.1 seconds, Trump’s is 21.3 seconds.

The final starts at 2pm on Sunday with eight frames. They will play nine more from 7pm tonight. On Monday they will play eight more frames from 2pm, with the balance from 7pm on Monday.