No player in the first round of action at the Masters 2020 produced a bigger victory than John Higgins did. The Scotsman crushed Barry Hawkins in his opening fixture, dropping the one frame only.
He’s the red hot favourite to make further progress by reaching the semi-finals. He lines up against Ali Carter who dug in well to knock out the season’s form player, Mark Selby in the first round.
It’s been a tournament of upsets for sure. Read our Ali Carter vs John Higgins betting tip for more details.
Ali Carter v John Higgins odds*
John Higgins 2/5
Ali Carter 2/1
* (Betting odds taken from bet365 on January 15th, 2020 at 1:05 pm)
Masters Snooker Betting at Bet365
Table of Contents
- 1 Ali Carter v John Higgins odds*
- 2 Can Carter stay on top of his game?
- 3 Head to head Higgins has a 70% success rate against Carter It is a 12-5 lead over Carter that Higgins holds The most recent meeting was back at the 2018 World Grand Prix, won by Higgins The last two meetings have gone the way of John Higgins Carter lost the one previous Masters meeting in 2013 6-3 Key-Facts – Ali Carter vs John Higgins Higgins beat Barry Hawkins 6-1 in the first round Carter upset Ding Junhui in a 6-3 success Higgins has only ever lost one match against Carter Higgins hits early form
- 4 Ali Carter v John Higgins Prediction and tip
Can Carter stay on top of his game?
Mark Selby came into the tournament as a leading contender. The three-time Masters champion has been in stunning form across the 2019/20 season. Few probably would have seen his first-round defeat happening against 16th seed Ali Carter.
That was just one of many upsets that happened in the first round of action at the Alexandra Palace. Where that win by Carter came from over Selby is a mystery. 40-year-old Carter barely ever makes it to the business end of tournaments.
Across ranking and non-nranking events, Carter has made one final since early 2016. Eight of Carter’s last ten appearances at the Masters have ended in a first-round exit. The other two appearances in that sequence at the event saw him fall at this quarter-final stage.
Head to head
Higgins has a 70% success rate against Carter
It is a 12-5 lead over Carter that Higgins holds
The most recent meeting was back at the 2018 World Grand Prix, won by Higgins
The last two meetings have gone the way of John Higgins
Carter lost the one previous Masters meeting in 2013 6-3
Key-Facts – Ali Carter vs John Higgins
- Higgins beat Barry Hawkins 6-1 in the first round
- Carter upset Ding Junhui in a 6-3 success
- Higgins has only ever lost one match against Carter
Higgins hits early form
Scotland’s John Higgins didn’t give Barry Hawkins a whiff of a chance in their first-round meeting. Fourth seed Higgins powered to a 6-1 success over the Englishman. Higgins got his first Masters title in 1999 and collected it for the second time in his career in 2006 with an upset over Ronnie O’Sullivan. It has been mixed fortunes for him in recent appearances at the event.
He is actually due for a good run at the Masters, at least if you believe in sequences. He has alternated between at least a quarter-final place and a first-round exit in his last six appearances. So last year he was a first-round loser after a semi-final berth in the previous attempt.
Higgins has, overall, had trouble converting at the business end of tournaments for some time now. He has collected just the one ranking title since the start of the 2016/17 season for example. He has won three non-ranking events in that sequence, and being one of the few top eight seeds left in this campaign and having seed Judd Trump, Din Junhi and Mark Selby all tumble from his half of the draw, he should be clued in.
Ali Carter v John Higgins Prediction and tip
It is hard to picture a scenario where Carter has enough in the tank to stop Higgins over the best of 11 frames. There’s little to suggest that Carter has the consistency to follow up one big victory over another.
That success he took over Ding was more of a one-off kind of deal. Higgins was sighting up well in his opening match and can have another comfortable fixture. It’s easily worth pushing a Higgins -2.5 handicap at 6/5 odds* (Betting odds taken from bet365 on January 15th, 2020 at 1:05 pm)
Higgins has a 70% success rate against Carter
It is a 12-5 lead over Carter that Higgins holds
The most recent meeting was back at the 2018 World Grand Prix, won by Higgins
The last two meetings have gone the way of John Higgins
Carter lost the one previous Masters meeting in 2013 6-3
Key-Facts – Ali Carter vs John Higgins
- Higgins beat Barry Hawkins 6-1 in the first round
- Carter upset Ding Junhui in a 6-3 success
- Higgins has only ever lost one match against Carter
Higgins hits early form
Scotland’s John Higgins didn’t give Barry Hawkins a whiff of a chance in their first-round meeting. Fourth seed Higgins powered to a 6-1 success over the Englishman. Higgins got his first Masters title in 1999 and collected it for the second time in his career in 2006 with an upset over Ronnie O’Sullivan. It has been mixed fortunes for him in recent appearances at the event.
He is actually due for a good run at the Masters, at least if you believe in sequences. He has alternated between at least a quarter-final place and a first-round exit in his last six appearances. So last year he was a first-round loser after a semi-final berth in the previous attempt.
Higgins has, overall, had trouble converting at the business end of tournaments for some time now. He has collected just the one ranking title since the start of the 2016/17 season for example. He has won three non-ranking events in that sequence, and being one of the few top eight seeds left in this campaign and having seed Judd Trump, Din Junhi and Mark Selby all tumble from his half of the draw, he should be clued in.
Ali Carter v John Higgins Prediction and tip
It is hard to picture a scenario where Carter has enough in the tank to stop Higgins over the best of 11 frames. There’s little to suggest that Carter has the consistency to follow up one big victory over another.
That success he took over Ding was more of a one-off kind of deal. Higgins was sighting up well in his opening match and can have another comfortable fixture. It’s easily worth pushing a Higgins -2.5 handicap at 6/5 odds* (Betting odds taken from bet365 on January 15th, 2020 at 1:05 pm)
