Evergreen John Higgins moves into his 19th World Snooker Championship quarter-final

The result puts Higgins into the last eight of snooker’s blue riband event for the 19th time in his illustrious career - 29 years on from his first in 1996. It also sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with fellow ‘Class of 92’ member Mark Williams.

A meeting of two of this season's star players, the round two fixture between Higgins and Xiao was a keenly contested one, with the scores level after the first and second sessions, before compelling third and fourth sessions on Saturday in Sheffield.

During the opening act on Thursday evening, both players lead the tie and each had a century break, but the spoils were shared at 4-4.

Resuming on Friday afternoon, the topsy-turvy theme continued as both cueists traded the advantage, but four-time World Champion Higgins, just like the previous day, won the final frame of the session - this time with a 129 - to level the scores.

What was meant to be the third and concluding session on Saturday morning was a largely scrappy and disjointed affair, but an entertaining and dramatic one as the finishing line loomed closer.

Wuhan Open champion Xiao went one ahead, but Higgins took the next two to reach double figures first at 10-9 up.

Recent Tour Championship winner Higgins was in the driving seat to move two frames clear, but it was Xiao who claimed the hour-long-plus frame 20 on the final pink to square up proceedings once again as they headed into a mid-session interval.

On resumption, for what was his 2,000th frame at the Crucible, Higgins constructed an 84 to squeeze back in front before reaching the hill at 12-10.

There was just time for one more frame to be completed before the players had to make way for the afternoon session's programme. Hoping to get the job done there and then, world number three Higgins appeared to be on course to do so, but within a few pots of progression, he missed a black off its spot to allow Xiao a lifeline.

The Chinese player - who has had the season of his life - stepped in to win the frame and reduce his arrears to one.

The players returned several hours later after having waited for a table to become free during the evening session. Again, Higgins was on the brink of victory, but missed a pink that would have left his opponent needing penalty points.

In a dramatic turn of events just a few moments later, Higgins fouled and left Xiao a freeball, and the world number 14 kept his cool once more to punish a mistake, and set up the third deciding frame match of this tournament, so far.

However, under huge pressure, Higgins produced the goods when he really needed to, as he fashioned runs of 44 and 75 in frame 25 to go through.

From the ten deciding frame matches that Higgins has been involved in at the Crucible, he has won nine.

Speaking with the BBC shortly after his exhausting ten-hour-plus victory, Higgins said: “It was a weird feeling just coming back for one or two frames. When I missed a black earlier this afternoon, I thought the snooker gods would not forgive me.

"The three sessions - I really enjoyed them because it's an unbelievable venue to play in. You play some good minutes, the pressure is on you and the crowd are all getting involved. You can't replicate playing here."

On Tuesday, Higgins will meet three-time World Champion Williams, who ended the challenge of Iran’s Hossein Vafaei 13-10 a few hours earlier.

Please visit our 2025 World Snooker Championship tournament information centre here for details on the draw, results, format and order of play.