Bet of the Day - December 4, 2025

The 2025 Snooker UK Championship is in full swing, and we'll know the full quarterfinal lineup by Thursday night. One of the last matches in the Round of 16 is the battle between two ex-world champions: John Higgins and Shaun Murphy.

6 minutes of just sensational final frame snooker from John Higgins. Enjoy.
pic.twitter.com/sq5uUwrhPr
— Daniel Hussey (@DanielHussey2) April 29, 2024

While there were 22 matches between the two players previously, we won't dig too deep into statistics. We'll just mention that Higgins has won 13 matches to Murphy's nine, but most of their clashes were very close. Higgins has had a decent season so far, reaching the final at the International Championship and the semifinal at the British Open. A week before the UK Championship, he lost the decider to Neil Robertson at the invitational Crucible Cup.

Murphy was on fire in late September and early October, winning the British Open and making the final at the Xi'an Grand Prix. His level has dipped a bit since then, but he's still one of the top break builders in the sport, with exceptional long-range potting as his biggest strength.

The Magician will have an advantage in scoring, while the Wizard of Wishaw is better in safety play and has the character of a pitbull. He will never give up and never let you go, and the list of his comeback victories might require several volumes. A seesaw battle is on the cards here, and it won't surprise us a bit if this goes to a deciding frame. Therefore, betting over 9.5 frames at 1.90 seems a very reasonable choice.