CRUCIBLE LEGEND Steve Davis returned to his 1980s heyday to beat defending champion John Higgins 13-11 in the second round at the World Championships in Sheffield.
Six-time winner Davis dominated the early stages, taking a 6-2 lead after the first session after breaks of 72 and 102, his first competitive century of the season.
Back came Higgins at the start of session two with a 78 break in the ninth frame and a tight win in the 10th to reduce his arrears to 6-4.
But Davis responded with a break of 83 in the 11th frame and a win in the 12th to restore his four frame advantage.
Higgins then won the next three frames, including a 106 break, to close the gap back to a single frame before Davis again responded by taking the last frame of the day, leaving the score 9-7.
Higgins began the third session in his best form of the match with breaks of 98 and 115 to level the scores but once again Davis recovered his position by winning the next two.
The contest looked like it was heading all the way when Higgins restored parity at 11-11 by taking frames 21 and 22 with breaks of 59 and 56.
But Davis continued the run of winning two consecutive frames to get over the line and become the oldest man in the quarter finals since Australian Eddie Charlton in 1983.
In the last eight, Davis will face contemporary Aussie Neil Robertson after his stunning comeback win over Martin Gould.
Robertson's victory would have been the main headline on any other day, but for Davis' histrionics, after he beat qualifier Gould 13-12 having trailed all the way the through the match.
Gould hit breaks of 63, 70, 80 and 116 in winning the opening six frames before Robertson belatedly responded with breaks of 71, 53 and 84 to leave the score at 6-3.
But Robertson's mini-revival did not affect Gould who won five of the next seven frames for 11-5 at the end of the second session.
At this stage, the ninth seed was in real trouble but he began the third session in inspired form with breaks of 64 and 112 to win frames 17 and 18.
The next three frames also went the way of the Australian but a solitary Gould success in frame 22 left the qualifier 12-10 ahead and just one away from victory.
It could not stem the tide, though, and Robertson took the final three frames, capping a thrilling comeback with a 52 break to win.
Mark Allen was the first man through to the last eight after a comfortable 13-5 win over qualifier Mark Davis.
Davis took the first two frames but, from then on, Northern Ireland youngster Allen dominated with a series of high breaks to win seven of the next eight frames.
Allen hit 81, 80, 63 and the Crucible's first ever 146, putting him in pole position for the high break prize of £10,000.
Davis won frame 11 but 11th seed Allen took the next four with further breaks of 59, 73 and 74 to lead 11-4.
And, despite Davis winning the final frame of session two with a break of 72, Allen quickly wrapped up the match with two centuries in the first two frames of the final session.
Allen, who knocked out Ronnie O'Sullivan last year on the way to the quarter finals, will meet 2006 champion Graeme Dott in the last eight this time.
Unseeded Dott had just as convincing a win as Allen, beating fellow Scot Stephen Maguire 13-6.
After winning a tight opening frame, Dott went on a phenomenal run, scoring breaks of 94, 110, 99, 59, 130, 60, 127 and 50 to win 10 of next 11 frames and lead 11-1.
The contest was becoming embarrassing for Maguire but the third seed at least took frames 13 and 14 with breaks of 120 and 82 to reduce the score to 11-3.
The pair shared the last two frames of the second session to confirm Dott's position of superiority at 12-4, just one frame short of the last eight.
Breaks of 75 and 77 meant Maguire won the first two frames of the third session but any thoughts of a comeback were soon dispelled by Dott after his win in the 19th frame.
In the big clash in the bottom quarter of the draw, three-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated twice-winner Mark Williams 13-10 in a tight but fast-scoring match.
O'Sullivan threatened to blitz Williams with high scoring early on and, despite the Welshman winning the opening frame, the Rocket hit breaks of 67, 87, 83 and 78 to win the next four.
In those frames, Williams scored just two points but he responded with breaks of 103, 57 and 74 to level the contest at 4-4 at the end of the first session.
The second session was also shared but this time it was O'Sullivan on the back foot, although he won the opening frame after a break of 86.
Williams won four of the next five frames to lead 8-6 after breaks of 54 and 99, and a single-point win on the black ball in frame 11.
But O'Sullivan did not crack - instead, he made breaks of 66 and 72 to ensure the final session would begin with the scores level at 8-8.
The pair each hit a 53 break to share the opening two frames of the decisive session but, from then on, it was O'Sullivan's class which showed.
A break of 104 in frame 19 was the first of three centuries in the final five frames. The others - a 111 and a 106 - came in the last two frames as he eventually broke Williams' resistance.
That is not to say that Williams failed to continue his good form. Indeed, the Welshman's 121 in the 21st frame made the score 11-10 to O'Sullivan and a final frame decider looked possible.
But O'Sullivan's superior scoring prowess came to the fore and brought a standing ovation from the Crucible crowd.
The Rocket will meet 2010 Masters champion Mark Selby in the last eight after the Jester from Leicester completely dominated seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry in 13-5 win.
Hendry, who struggled past Zhang Anda in the first round, actually held a 4-2 lead in the early stages of this contest.
But 2007 runner-up Selby won 11 frames out of 12 - including breaks of 87, 96, 72 twice, 117 and 99 - to leave his Scottish opponent rooted to his seat for long periods.
The thrashing brought to an end a poor season for Hendry who reached the quarter finals of a ranking event just once - but the dream of a first world crown for Selby lives on.
Allister Carter will also be having that dream after he beat Joe Perry 13-11 in another close match.
Fifth seed Carter hit an 88 break in the opening frame and a 72 in frame six while Perry's high break was 56 in a largely uneventful first session, which ended 4-4.
2008 runner up Carter stepped up his game at the start of the second session to take the first four frames, with breaks of 61 and 100 in frames nine and 11, to lead 8-4.
And the other four frames in the second part of the session were shared to leave Carter in a commanding position at 10-6.
Despite this, Perry launched a magnificent comeback and won five consecutive frames with four breaks over 50 to take a one-frame lead.
But breaks of 104 and 82 re-established Carter's control of the match, and a third frame followed straightaway to put him in a quarter final against 2005 champion Shaun Murphy.
Murphy ended Ding Junhui's hopes of Crucible glory for another year after a 13-10 win having spent most of the time playing catch up.
After the opening four frames were shared, Ding hit breaks of 103 and 78 to help him to three of the next four and a 5-3 lead after the opening session.
Back came Murphy with breaks of 72 and 100 to level the match at 5-5 before Ding restored his two frame advantage in frames 11 and 12.
Murphy again responded with breaks of 64 in the 13th frame and 51 in the 15th frame as well as a win in the 16th frame to level the match again at 8-8.
Ding took the lead twice again at the start of the third session with 58 in the frame 17 and 137 in frame 19 but Murphy continued to come back in the tight frames in between.
The Englishman then demonstrated perfect timing to take an 11-10 lead.
And another two frames, including a 128 break, made it four in a row for a victory which ensures his love affair with the Crucible continues.
Second Round (best of 25 frames)
Steve Davis bt John Higgins (1) 13-11
Neil Robertson (9) bt Martin Gould 13-12
Allister Carter (5) bt Joe Perry (12) 13-11
Shaun Murphy (4) bt Ding Junhui (13) 13-10
Graeme Dott bt Stephen Maguire (3) 13-6
Mark Allen (11) bt Mark Davis 13-5
Mark Selby (7) bt Stephen Hendry (10) 13-5
Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) bt Mark Williams (15) 13-10
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EARLIER ROUNDS/CENTURY BREAKS
First round (best of 19 frames)
Section 1:
John Higgins (1) bt Barry Hawkins 10-6
Steve Davis bt Mark King (16) 10-9
Martin Gould bt Marco Fu (8) 10-9
Neil Robertson (9) bt Fergal O'Brien 10-5
Defending champions Higgins overcame a wobble to beat Barry Hawkins and set up a second round tie with Steve Davis.
Higgins trailed 5-4 after the opening session but picked up his form in the second half of the match, hitting two century breaks to progress.
The Scot will meet six-time winner Steve Davis after his thrilling final frame win over Mark King.
King dominated the first session but Davis won the final frame of it to trail just 5-4. King soon made this 6-4 but then four successive frames for Davis gave him an 8-6 lead.
King, the 16th seed, levelled the score at 8-8 before Davis hit a 91 break to move within one frame of victory.
A tight 18th frame went in favour of King before Davis edged the final frame, winning when King inadvertently potted a pink in hoping to lay a snooker.
Martin Gould was another qualifier to taste final frame success in this quarter of the draw. He beat eighth seed Marcu Fu in another topsy-turvy game.
Fu took five of the opening seven frames, hitting a 112 break in the seventh, to build a commanding lead but Gould won the next three with two centuries of his own.
Fu restored a two frame advantage at 8-6 by winning three of the next four frames but Gould repeated his earlier achievement of three successive frames to lead 9-8.
A vital break of 51 ensured Fu forced a decider but Gould held his nerve and hit a break of 90 for a huge personal win.
Gould meets Neil Robertson in round two after the Australian overcame Fergal O'Brien without ever being at his best.
Robertson hit a break of 106 to win the ninth frame to lead 6-3 after the opening session, having won five in a row between the second and sixth frames.
O'Brien threatened a comeback, reducing the lead to 6-5 by taking the opening two frames of the second session.
But Robertson accelerated again, taking the final four frames to seal a place in the second round.
Section 2:
Allister Carter (5) bt Jamie Cope 10-4
Joe Perry (12) bt Michael Holt 10-4
Ding Junhui (13) bt Stuart Pettman 10-1
Shaun Murphy (4) bt Gerard Greene 10-7
Ding Junhui demonstrated his championship credentials, systematically destroying Stuart Pettman in his first round match at the Crucible.
At one stage, Ding led 6-0, having hit a 129 break in the sixth frame, and a first Crucible whitewash since 1993 looked very much on the cards.
But Pettman won a scrappy seventh frame to save face before Ding won another four frames with ease to meet Shaun Murphy.
2005 champion Murphy also looked set for a big first round win over Gerard Greene but the Northern Irishman made an unlikely comeback.
Murphy led 8-1 after the first session and the opening two frames of the second session were shared.
But Greene then won five frames in a row to reduce the lead to 9-7 before Murphy finally got over the line with a break of 87 in the 17th frame.
Allister Carter also benefited from a good start against his opponent Jamie Cope, and he will now face Joe Perry.
Carter led 7-2 at the end of the first session before sharing the first four frames of session two to lead 9-4.
Fifth seed Carter then wrapped up the win in the 14th frame as Cope realised he had left himself far too much to do.
Perry won his first round match against Michael Holt in identical fashion to Carter.
He also led 7-2 at the end of the first session before sharing the first four frames of the second session and completing the job in frame 14.
Section 3:
Mark Allen (11) bt Tom Ford 10-4
Mark Davis bt Ryan Day (6) 10-8
Stephen Maguire (3) bt Stephen Lee 10-4
Graeme Dott bt Peter Ebdon (14) 10-5
Graeme Dott played some stylish snooker to beat Peter Ebdon who has dropped out of the top 16 for the first time since 1994.
Ebdon won the opening frame but Dott was in better early form and a 105 break in the second frame sent him on his way to five in a row.
After Ebdon won the seventh frame to reduce his arrears to 5-2, Dott took the final two frames of the first session to restore the lead which his dominance deserved.
It was vital for Ebdon that he got a good start to the second session and, by winning the two first frames, he duly reduced his deficit to 7-4.
But 2006 champion Dott was not to be denied a repeat victory at the Crucible over Ebdon, and he won three out of four frames for a comfortable victory.
Dott faces fellow Scotsman Stephen Maguire in the second round after the number three eased past Stephen Lee.
Maguire took the first three frames before Lee hit back to take the next two, the latter with a fine 127 break.
Maguire then won three out of the next four frames to lead 6-3 overnight before Lee made another big break, a 95, to win the opening frame of session two.
A 114 break re-established Maguire's stranglehold on the game and he reeled off three further frames without reply to win 10-4.
That was also the score for talented Northern Irish player Mark Allen against Crucible debutant Tom Ford.
Ford appeared rather overawed by the grand venue as Allen established an 8-1 lead after the opening session.
At least Ford can console himself with the fact that he won his first Crucible frame with a century.
But, by then, Allen was already 7-0 up and indeed he replied to Ford's ton with one of his own in the ninth frame.
Ford rallied to take three of the first four frames the next day but Allen's win was never in much doubt, and was sealed with a 72 break in frame 14.
Allen will face Mark Davis in round two after his fine 10-8 win over number six seed Ryan Day.
Day took the first two frames but the unseeded Davis took five of the next six to establish an overnight lead.
Welshman Day had at least reduced his task by winning the last frame of the first session and he followed it up by taking the first two of the second session to lead 6-5.
Davis then won three of the next four frames to lead 8-7 before Day levelled it up again at 8-8.
But Davis was not to be denied only a second career win at the Crucible and composed breaks of 56 and 62 were enough to secure a two-frame triumph.
Section 4:
Mark Selby (7) bt Ken Doherty 10-4
Stephen Hendry (10) bt Zhang Anda 10-9
Mark Williams (15) bt Marcus Campbell 10-5
Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) bt Liang Wenbo 10-7
Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry had to win the last three frames of his first round match against Zhang Anda to avoid becoming the victim of massive shock.
Hendry started well enough, outclassing debutant Zhang to take the first four frames but the Chinese teenager hit back to trail just 5-4 after the first session.
Zhang hit an 86 break to level the match at 5-5 at the start of session two but Hendry still showed no signs of panic, winning the next two frames to lead 7-5.
But then Zhang reeled off four successive frames to leave him just one short of a huge win before Hendry hit breaks of 89, 52 and 55 to complete his comeback.
Hendry will need to be on much sharper form in the second round against Mark Selby after the 2010 Masters champion beat Irish veteran Ken Doherty 10-4.
Selby and Doherty shared the opening four frames but, even at that point the Leicester man looked stronger, having scored two early centuries.
Selby confirmed his dominance by winning four out of the next five frames to lead 6-3 after the first session.
And in the following session, Selby repeated the streak of four frames from five to seal a place in the last 16 with a comfortable victory
Second seed Ronnie O'Sullivan was also comfortable for the most part despite a late rally by his first round opponent Liang Wenbo.
After the pair shared the first two frames, O'Sullivan struck successive centuries to lead 3-1.
Liang won the fifth frame but then four consecutive frames to O'Sullivan gave the three-time winner a commanding 7-2 lead overnight.
O'Sullivan stretched his lead further by winning two of the first three frames in session two and an early finish looked likely.
But Liang hit a fine patch form with two centuries in a run of four successive frames to reduce the deficit to 9-7 before a 73 break from O'Sullivan in frame 17 killed off the comeback.
O'Sullivan will meet Mark Williams in the last 16 after the Welshman's ultimately routine opening round victory over Marcus Campbell.
A tight first session saw Williams edge ahead 5-4 and Campbell looked set to be a real nuisance for the two-time winner when he won the opening frame of session two to make it 5-5.
But, from then, it was all about Williams who showed his class to shrug off his opponent's challenge by winning five successive frames for a 10-5 victory.
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Previously on TheIntrepidReporter
*World Snooker Championship Preview
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