Judd Trump staged a stirring recovery as he reeled off five frames in a row to sink Neil Robertson 6-3 and seal his place in the last 16 of the UK Championship in York.
The world number one looked distinctly out of sorts in the opening stages as he fell 3-1 behind and looked set to extend his poor record in the tournament, which he has not won since 2011.
But Trump pounced after a pivotal moment in the fifth frame when Robertson missed a simple red on the cusp of extending his advantage, letting Trump in to claw back the deficit to 3-2.
Australian Robertson, now ranked just outside the top 16, came through qualifying in Leicester to make a return to the Triple Crown event he has won three times – the last being in 2020 against Trump on the pink in a last-frame decider.
The 42-year-old, world champion in 2010, took the opening frame before the referee signalled for the players to go off after someone in the crowd at the Barbican needed assistance.
On the other table, veteran Higgins rolled back the years as he completed a 6-0 whitewash of China’s He Guoqiang, who was making his Barbican debut.
Scotsman Higgins, a four-time world champion, signalled his intent with early breaks of 110 and 92 before further extending his advantage into the interval. Two more half-century runs saw the 49-year-old comfortably into the last 16.
“It is a great atmosphere, I was nervous as well, but I got off to a decent start and I just put the pressure on him.
“When I play like that, I feel like I am a match for anyone.”
