The Scotsman, who has spoken this week about potentially retiring at the end of the season unless his game and motivation improves, fired the ninth maximum of his career - and the 145th in professional snooker history - to go 3-0 up against Gerard Greene.
Higgins kept his composure to seal the final frame to complete a 4-0 whitewash of Greene and book his place in the third round.
He will be joined there by 2006 world champion Graeme Dott, who beat Scott Donaldson 4-1 in an all-Scottish contest.
Meanwhile, defending champion Neil Robertson crashed out in the second round with a 4-2 defeat to home favourite Ross Muir.
Muir, the world number 94, won the final three frames including hitting a break of 98 in seeing off the 2010 world champion.
There were no problems for world number seven Ding Junhui as he strolled into the third round with a 4-1 win over Robert Milkins, while Joe Perry beat Robbie Williams 4-2.
Luca Brecel knocked out home favourite Alan McManus, the Belgian winning through 4-2, while Dominic Dale lost out in a final-frame battle with Zhao Xintong.
Kyren Wilson breezed into the third round with a 4-0 win over Paul Davison.
The world number 10, who was beaten in the quarter-finals at the UK Championship last week, had breaks of 72, 55 and 105 in a resounding victory.
There was a surprise exit for Marco Fu as he lost 4-3 to world number 95 Alfie Burden. Fu had claimed the first three frames, including breaks of 133 and 91, but Burden reeled off four in a row to reach round three.
Early session
Earlier in the day, Nigel Bond, Ian Burns and Ali Carter became the first three players through to the third round following comfortable victories.
Former world championship finalist and 1996 British Open winner Bond defeated Welshman Michael White 4-1, while Burns beat fellow Englishman Mike Dunn by the same scoreline.
Carter, twice a world championship runner-up, had a tough time against Cypriot Michael Georgiou as they shared the first four frames before the former surged clear to clinch a 4-2 victory.
In the other morning session matches there were victories for David Lilley, Stuart Carrington, Sam Baird, Zhou Yuelong and Lu Ning.
Lilley was taken all the way by fellow Englishman Mark King before triumphing 4-3 and China's Lu won by the same scoreline over Welshman Jak Jones.
England's Carrington beat Scotland's Eden Sharav, Baird defeated fellow Englishman Martin O'Donnell and Zhou was a 4-2 victor in the all-Chinese battle with Lyu Haotian.
