Title match preview: Who is playing on Sunday in the Players Championship snooker final?

The best of 19 frames title match will be played across afternoon (13:00GMT start) and evening (19:00GMT) sessions with the winner to pocket a top prize of £150,000.

Both finalists came through pulsating, deciding frame semi-final encounters on Saturday with Higgins ousting world number one Judd Trump 6-5, and Zhao recovering from 3-1 and 4-2 down to pip Mark Allen.

Higgins aiming for record-breaking triumph

Appearing in the 60th world ranking event final of his illustrious career, Higgins is going for a 34th crown which would put him only two titles behind fellow Scot Stephen Hendry who is second on the all-time list of most decorated ranking champions.

Higgins is playing the role of super sub this week; he was only invited to the event due to fellow ‘Class of 92’ graduate Ronnie O’Sullivan electing not to enter. Having finished 17th in the qualification race - one below the cut-off - Higgins was first in line to receive an invite when O’Sullivan turned down his place.

And ‘The Wizard’ - who has also been dabbling in some commentary work this week for host broadcaster Channel 5 - has been making the most of his reprieve, defeating number one seed Neil Robertson 6-1 in the opening round before a 6-3 success over Chris Wakelin in the quarter-finals, and then his narrow victory over Trump.

The 50-year-old will create some significant history should he lift the Players Championship trophy - a title he won in 2021.

Already the second-oldest ranking event finalist of all-time - behind only Rex Williams who was 53 when he made the 1986 Grand Prix - Higgins can become the sport’s oldest-ever ranking champion, eclipsing the other member of the ‘Class of 92’ Mark Williams’ record-breaking effort from the Xi’an Grand Prix earlier this season.

Higgins’ maiden ranking accolade came as a teenager at the 1994 Grand Prix. His latest title arrived at last year’s Tour Championship in April, and he already holds the record for the longest span of ranking triumphs - but he can now extend that benchmark further.

He would become the first player to have won ranking titles in five different decades of his life - teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Williams didn’t win one in his teens, and O’Sullivan has yet to win one in his fifties.

Runner-up at the ranked International Championship in November, and Masters invitational last month, a victory for Higgins would continue this season’s incredible streak of unique ranking event champions - no-one has won more than one.

The prize money that Higgins has already earned this week has pushed him into the top 12 of the one-year list; one step further will surely guarantee him the chance to defend the Tour Championship crown in a few weeks time.

Zhao continues winning streak on tour

What an incredible fortnight or so it has been for reigning world champion Zhao Xintong.

The 28-year-old travelled to the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong earlier this month knowing that he needed a deep run to qualify for this Players Championship event. And he did more than just that, going all the way to win his first ranking title whilst wearing the world crown. He won the Riyadh Season Championship in Saudi Arabia last November, but that was an invitational.

It could have all been such a different story, though, as he trailed Mark Selby 4-1 in the last 16 in the Far East before coming back to win 5-4. Had he lost that match, he would have been eliminated from two competitions - now he has the opportunity to join an exclusive club of cueists who have claimed back-to-back ranking titles.

This week has been far from plain sailing either. He was three down with four to play in the first round against Elliot Slessor, turning a 5-2 deficit into a 6-5 success. After seeing off Shaun Murphy 6-3 in the last eight, he showed more cool, steely determination in a recovery win over Allen in the semis.

This year is only his second outing at the Players Championship - he lost in round one on debut in 2022 - the Chinese cueman is aiming for the fifth ranking title of his career.

Higgins and Zhao head-to-head record

If you exclude short-format Championship League encounters, Higgins leads the career head-to-head record by seven wins to four.

They have met twice this calendar year already; Higgins won a classic at the Masters, winning their quarter-final clash on the final black ball of the deciding frame. However, Zhao took their latest duel, a 5-3 outcome in round one of the World Grand Prix less than three weeks ago. This will be the first time they have shared the baize for a final.

Zhao has won all five professional finals he has competed in.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Players Championship, visit here.