John Higgins to face Mark Williams in World Championship quarter-finals
Scot Higgins held his nerve to win his marathon clash against Xiao Guodong.
John Higgins will face Mark Williams in the World Championship quarter-finals after the Scot emerged with a 13-12 victory from his marathon clash with Xiao Guodong.
After the contest could not be finished inside three sessions, the pair resumed on Saturday evening with Higgins 12-11 up.
And the four-time Crucible champion looked to be closing in on the last eight in frame 24, only to foul by inadvertently potting the pink, allowing Xiao to force a decider.
Higgins then composed himself to finally see off the Chinese world number 14 with a break of 75.
He told the BBC: “What a weird feeling that was, getting home when you know you’re coming back for only one or two frames, it’s just a surreal feeling.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the game, I really did, because it’s just an unbelievable venue to play in.
“You’re playing good some minutes, the pressure is on you, the crowd are all getting involved. You can’t replicate playing here.”
Three-time winner Williams got through after wrapping up a 13-10 victory over Hossein Vafaei earlier in the day.
After going from 9-7 up at the start of the session to 11-8 ahead, Williams saw Vafaei take the next two frames to get within one of levelling before the Welshman wrapped things up, finishing with a break of 115.
Ronnie O’Sullivan was in control against Pang Junxu as the seven-time champion finished the first session of their last-16 match with a 6-2 lead.
O’Sullivan claimed each of the first four frames, posting breaks of 58, 91, 50 and 63, before Pang got off the mark by registering the contest’s first century break, making a 119.
The ‘Rocket’ swiftly hit back to secure frame six and after Pang took frame seven, O’Sullivan concluded the session by re-establishing a four-frame advantage to take into Sunday’s resumption.
Luca Brecel, who lifted the trophy in 2023, made a ruthless start against Ding Junhui, surging to a 7-1 lead.
After Ding took the opener with a break of 141, Brecel’s emphatic response included him posting two century breaks of his own, a 121 in the second frame and 100 in the fifth.
Zhao Xintong leads Lei Peifan 10-6 after winning the morning session 5-3 while in the final match of the day, Si Jiahui took a tight last frame to lead Leicester’s Ben Woollaston 5-3.
