Judd Trump emerged victorious after a fiercely contested battle with John Higgins, winning 6-5 to make the quarter-finals of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship.
The win for world number one Trump sees him continue to dominate four-time Crucible king Higgins in the recent part of their storied snooker rivalry, which includes two Crucible finals. The Ace in the Pack has now won 12 of their last 13 meetings and leads the head to head standings 19-14, after Scotland's Higgins had the upper hand in their initial clashes as professionals.
Trump progresses to the last eight, leaving him three victories away from a first UK Championship win since his maiden title in the event back in 2011. Next up is a meeting with former International Champion Zhang Anda. Winner of 29 ranking titles, Trump is seeking a fifth Triple Crown success and first since the 2023 Masters.
Defeat for three-time UK Champion Higgins is a continuation of his underwhelming recent record in the tournament, where he hasn't made it beyond the last 16 since 2019 and the quarter-finals since winning the event in 2010.
The opening frames were played out at an attritional pace, as both players struggled to hit their stride. With Trump leading 2-1, a break of 39 from Higgins saw him steal on the black and restore parity heading into the mid-session at 2-2.
The pace of the contest changed completely after the interval and both players went toe to toe in the break building department. It was Trump who made 110 to regain the lead after play got underway, but runs of 58 and 106 gave Higgins the following two frames to lead 4-3.
Runs of 69 and 75 helped Trump to regain the advantage and move one from victory at 5-4, before a steely 66 from Higgins forced a decider.
The Glaswegian had the first opportunity in the final frame, but when leading 34-0 play descended to a potential stalemate with the white lodged in the pack. Eventually, forcing the issue, Higgins left Trump a red to the middle. He ruthlessly deposited it and made 106 to secure victory.
Trump said: "I just tried to speed up a bit after the interval and I thought the game was good after that. The balls were going safe and you are just trying to figure your opponent out. It turned out to be a good game in the end. It was a great century in the last frame. I was trying to buy time hoping for a chance. He probably had to rush and left a tricky red to the middle.
"Every game we play recently is close. Over the last five years I can't even remember how many deciders we have had. Every single game seems to go down to a decider. Fortunately for me I've managed to get the better of him in recent times and today was the same. I held myself together and made a good break to get over the line.
"I think I'm probably eighth favourite, I'm being serious as well. I've not played well. I'm still looking forward to playing. Every time you are in the quarters of a tournament like this you are that much closer to winning it. I need to put some work in and find my game."
On the other table, Zhang completed an epic fightback to beat Stuart Bingham 6-5 from 5-1 down to earn a last eight encounter with Trump.
The early stages saw 2015 World Champion Bingham dominate as he moved 3-1 ahead. He then embarked on a 147 attempt, which ended on 105 after missing the 14th black.
It appeared Bingham had quickly recovered from the disappointment of that miss, when he took the sixth to move 5-1 ahead. However, a brilliant fightback from Zhang saw him take five on the bounce, including breaks of 81, 70 and 108 to clinch a 6-5 victory.
Zhang said: "It was a very tough game. Stuart is a difficult opponent. I didn't do anything wrong to be 5-1 down. In the second session I didn't have too much pressure. I didn't think too far ahead and tried to win."