Masters snooker 2026: John Higgins defeats Judd Trump in thriller to reach final

John Higgins stunned world number one Judd Trump to reach his first Masters final since 2021 by coming from 3-0 and 5-3 down to win 6-5.

The Scot had lost his previous seven matches against the Englishman and appeared to be trying too hard as he made a series of errors in the first three frames.

But Trump, whose highest break to date was just 60, failed to capitalize on two good opportunities to take the fourth frame which gave Higgins a route back into the contest.

Higgins, who won the second of his two Masters titles 20 years ago, told BBC Sport: “Maybe he should have been 4-0 up and maybe I made it too easy for him.”

“The fourth frame was massive because if it goes 4-0 it’s over, but at 3-1 I felt good.”

“People will laugh but I think I’m a better player now than ever. You play with great champions like Judd and I’m very proud because I lost the last few games against him.”

As the momentum shifted, the 50-year-old Higgins finished fifth with a stunning break of 104.

The Englishman pinned down the sixth and eighth frames after a half-century from his opponent had missed the reds, but Higgins similarly took the seventh frame with a lead of 57.

Trump, 36, who has generally dominated meetings between the pair since victory in the 2019 world final, looked poised to secure victory in the ninth frame but conspicuously missed a routine brownie just four balls into the basket.

That gave Higgins the impetus to post pressure breaks of 70 and 57 to weather three consecutive tense frames to complete a remarkable comeback and become the oldest player to reach the final of a Triple Crown event.

Kyren Wilson will face Wu Yize on Saturday from 19:00 GMT for a place in Sunday’s final against Higgins.