STUART Bingham says there is no danger of him underestimating the “Widnes Warrior” Andrew Higginson at the German Masters today.

The pair will face each other in the last 32 of the full ranking event, which will be screened live on Eurosport at 3pm.

“Ball-run” Bingham is having his best-ever season, while Higginson is still waiting for his first major tournament win, but the former says he won’t be taking things lightly against a player he holds in high regard.

Bingham said: “Andrew is a very capable player, and capable of winning any tournament really.

“He jumped on to the scene when he got to the final of the Welsh Open and made a 147 in that tournament a few years ago.

“He had a sniff at getting in the top 16 either at the beginning of this year or last year. “He went backwards a bit after that, but he has won a few matches recently.

“He’s a good lad and popular on tour – he’s one of the nicest guys you could meet really.

“But I’ll be putting that aside here and hopefully I can beat him 5-0!

Bingham, who is world ranked 10, had to qualify to reach this stage, and did so with a 5-1 win over Rod Lawler.

Higginson, ranked 29, beat Zhang Anda 5-4 to book his place at the Tempodrom in Berlin.

There’s 60,000 euros on offer to the champion and it’s a tournament which attracts sell-out crowds.

It’s considered one of the gems of the tour, and Bingham says it is an event and a location he enjoys.

He said: “The locals are very welcoming and I think the game is just as big in Germany as it is in China.

“Eurosport cover all the snooker so the Germans know the game well and that always makes for a good atmosphere and a good competition.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan won the German Masters last year when he beat Stephen Maguire in the final in what for many was the match of the season.