Who will win the 2025 Tour Championship snooker final? Preview of John Higgins v Mark Selby

The penultimate event of the professional season, the third and final Players Series tournament of the campaign will be decided across two sessions and the best of 19 frames. The winner will pocket the £150,000 first prize.

A new name was guaranteed to be on the trophy at the last four stage earlier this week. Having lost in three semi-finals in this competition before, Selby will be appearing in his first Tour final. Higgins will be featuring in his second; his first in 2022 does not bring back happy memories as he painfully lost 10-9 to Neil Robertson having been 9-4 up.

How have Higgins and Selby made it to the final?

As one of the top four seeds, Higgins did not start his title tilt until the quarter-finals stage where he strung together the final seven frames in defeating Xiao Guodong 10-3 in a match where he compiled four century breaks.

In the semi-finals, after the opening session ended 4-4, Higgins was incredible during the evening session against Barry Hawkins, crafting a trio of century breaks - including the highest of the tournament, so far with a 144 - in a 10-7 success.

Selby - who began in the preliminary round - has relinquished only nine frames in three matches, and only three in the last two.

'The Jester from Leicester' eliminated Si Jiahui 10-6 before crushing the in-form Neil Robertson 10-1 and then Ding Junhui 10-2 in the semi-finals. Like Higgins, Selby has registered seven century breaks during the week, although he has played a match more.

How have Higgins and Selby fared this season?

It has been a rejuvenating campaign for both cueists, who have overcome troubles on the baize within the past 12 months.

Selby was considering his professional future following a shock first round exit at the World Championship last year, but since then he has won three titles on the circuit - the British Open, Championship League Invitational, and the Welsh Open.

For the first time in over 29 years, 'Class of 92' member Higgins slipped outside of the world's top 16 rankings back in the autumn. However, he immediately returned to the elite bracket just a week later with a run to the British Open final (against Selby) and last month lifted his first ranking event trophy in four years with glory at the World Open in Yushan, China.

What would it mean for their careers and what is the head-to-head record between Higgins and Selby?

Both Higgins and Selby have long since established themselves as all-time greats of the sport. Higgins is third on the all-time list of most decorated ranking event winners with 32 titles, while Selby is eighth in those standings with 24.

Not many players can boast a positive career head-to-head record over Higgins, but Selby can - just.

Selby has won each of their last four match-ups in ranking competition; three of those he went on to win the title, including two this season.

He ended his 'ITV curse' with a 10-5 victory over Higgins in the final of the British Open, and came through a lengthy but compelling quarter-final tie with him at the Welsh Open that went to a deciding frame.

This will be the fifth time they have shared the baize in a final, with Selby leading the current count 3-1. They have defeated the other in a world final - Higgins triumphed at the Crucible in 2007, although Selby reversed the roles there 10 years later.

In multi-session encounters they have played each other nine times, with Selby being 5-4 up.