Tour Championship titleholder John Higgins has named two current WST stars who “keep their distance” from one another. ‘The Wizard of Wishaw’ used his own rivalry with Mark Williams to paint a picture of why Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson may be reluctant to get too friendly.

Snooker icons Higgins and Williams have met 67 times in a rivalry that dates back to when they first faced off as juniors in 1990. And they’ll meet for the 68th time on Tuesday as each looks to advance beyond the first round of the Tour Championship. There was a time in their careers when Higgins and Williams were accustomed to meeting regularly as they routinely contested major titles against one another. And Higgins used his own example of a frosty relationship to illustrate how current superstars Trump and Wilson behave around one another.

“I can’t wait to get out there and obviously playing your old nemesis, Mark Williams,” he told Metro. “It can’t be any bigger or better than playing Mark.”

Some may suspect certain rivalries are just for show, but Higgins confirmed that isn’t the case for Trump and Wilson, as he added: “I think it’s a lot better than it was. It’s only natural as well, I think, when you see the boys nowadays, the likes of Judd and Kyren, you just get a feeling that they [really are] rivals and they want to keep their distance from each other.

“It was probably exactly the same [for us]. Back in the day when me, Mark and Ronnie were playing, you were vying against each other for the same titles.”

It wasn’t purely down to the table tactics that Higgins and Williams found themselves at odds, however. The Scot acknowledged his decision to leave Ian Doyle’s team around 1994 also left a bitter taste for some of those who remained, Williams being one of them.

He continued: “As well, it’s been well-documented that when I’d left the management stable with Ian Doyle, and Mark was still under that banner, there was a bit of rivalry there.”

In the end, both stars have gone on to enjoy glittering careers and remain highly competitive in ranking tournaments today. Higgins has four World Snooker Championships to his credit compared to Williams’ three, though ‘The Welsh Potting Machine’ boasts his own complement of rare achievements.

Coming into Tuesday’s contest, Higgins has won 38 of their professional contests, while Williams has 25 wins. That being said, it was Williams who came out on top in a 13-12 blockbuster when they collided in the quarter-finals of last year’s World Championship.

Fans in Manchester are in for a treat if the wizened duo can replicate the quality of that matchup this week. The winner will advance to face third seed Mark Selby, whom Higgins beat this time last year to clinch the 2025 Tour Championship.