John Higgins shrugged off a deep deficit to cut Ronnie O'Sullivan's lead to 9-7 after the second session of their World Snooker Championship last-16 tie, setting up a decisive final session scheduled for 13:00 BST on Monday and to be shown live on Two.
O'Sullivan had dominated early. He led 6-2 after Saturday's first session and stretched that advantage to 9-4 in the first-to-13 match before Higgins won the last three frames of the second session to narrow the gap to two.
The match has produced flashes from both men and moments of raw frustration: O'Sullivan at one point bashed the table with his knuckles after a shot that went wrong, a visible sign of the pressure in a contest between a seven-time Crucible winner and a four-time world champion.
Former champion Stephen Hendry said Higgins had shown grit to stay alive and that it was remarkable he remained in the contest after a difficult opening session. Hendry added that O'Sullivan's play was outstanding at times but that Higgins, unusually, had looked unlike his normal self early on and had to battle back.
The swing leaves the match poised. When O'Sullivan was 9-7 ahead, Higgins still required four more frames to take the title in the first-to-13 format, a reminder of how much ground remains to be covered before a winner emerges.
The day-after finish on Monday will carry heavy weight: the Crucible crowd and a national television audience on Two will see whether Higgins can complete his comeback or whether O'Sullivan can regroup and close out the tie.
There is wider chatter from the tournament. In a separate last-16 discussion, former champion Steve Davis warned that anyone capable of outplaying mark selby at this World Championship is a genuine threat, singling out Wu Yize as a player who is not content to finish second and who looks dangerous. The point underlines that other matches — including Chris Wakelin leading Neil Robertson 10-6 — are producing similarly significant developments.
The tension in O'Sullivan v Higgins is not a simple reversal. O'Sullivan still holds the numerical advantage and has shown stretches of the form that made him a seven-time winner at the Crucible, while Higgins has had to summon resilience and a short run of high-quality frames to keep his tournament alive.
Monday's restart at 13:00 BST is the immediate test. Higgins has fought his way back into the match; whether he can continue that momentum and overturn O'Sullivan's lead will decide which of the two champions advances from this last-16 tie.
