Higgins to face ton machine Chang in 2026 International Championship semi-finals

Higgins and Chang teed up a tasty clash of generations after winning their respective quarter-final assignments on Wednesday in Nanjing. Earlier in the day, Kyren Wilson and Fan Zhengyi progressed to the last four of the £825,000 world ranking tournament.

Scottish ace Higgins is through to an incredible 95th ranking event semi-final of his career after thrice coming from behind to end the run of Marco Fu, 6-4.

Fu ousted teenage rookie Wang Xinbo the day before to appear in his first ranking event quarter-final since January 2020. The former world number five from Hong Kong deposited the opening frame on the black - despite his opponent having made a 60 - and breaks of 84 and 86 later saw him establish 2-1 and 3-2 leads.

But 51-year-old Higgins, who had earlier registered runs of 77 and 57, strung together the final four frames along with efforts of 78, 51, 54 and 70 to reach the semi-finals on the World Snooker Tour for the first time since the Crucible in early May.

Before a ball was struck in Nanjing, four-time world champion Higgins was placed 79th on the seasonal ranking list after a difficult start to the term that has seen him struggle for motivation, and going ‘back to basics’ with using a brass ferrule on his cue.

‘The Wizard of Wishaw’ claimed this International Championship crown in 2015, and is now one step away from back-to-back final outings having been denied by Wu Yize last year.

Chang makes four centuries in eliminating world number one Zhao

Higgins will face a very stern test against a free-scoring Chang who dispatched world number one Zhao Xintong on the other table during the evening session in the Far East.

One of the hottest properties on the professional snooker circuit, 24-year-old Chang claimed his maiden ranking prize at the Wuhan Open in late August where he defeated Chinese compatriot Zhao in the final.

In his latest meeting with the 2025 World Champion, Chang produced one of his signature scoring spells, fashioning breaks of 100, 102 and 115 in successive frames after Zhao had taken the first with the aid of a 74.

Chang made it 4-1 after the mid-session interval, but Zhao rallied with contributions of 64 and 113 to close the gap to one at 4-3.

However, Chang was not to be stopped from reaching his third professional semi-final, crafting a 58 in the eighth before wrapping up a 6-3 victory with a 107.

That was the second time in three days that Chang has compiled four century breaks in a match. Across his opening four ties at the SNC National Fitness Centre in this competition he has already racked up 13 tons.

Whatever happens over the next few days in China, Chang is guaranteed to enter the world’s elite top 16 for the first time when the world rankings are updated on Monday.

The International Championship semi-finals are the best of 17 frames held across two sessions with scheduled start times of 06:00GMT and 11:30GMT.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 International Championship, visit our tournament information centre here.