Neil Robertson came from behind to beat Anthony McGill 6-4 in the last 16 of the UK Championship in Milton Keynes.
The Australian is now 11/4 second favourite to claim the UK title for a third time, but he had to dig deep to see off last season's World Championship semi-finalist, McGill.
The match initially delivered some high-quality fare as the first four frames were shared, Robertson opening up with runs 94 and 83 either side of breaks of 100 and 69 from McGill.
The Scot edged ahead again when getting the better of a tight tussle in frame five and when he extended in his lead to 4-2 thanks to a brilliant 127, he would have been confident of securing his first quarter-final appearance in this event since 2014.
However, Robertson hit back with a break of 132 and the tide of the match had turned by the time he drew level following a hard-fought frame eight.
McGill continued to fight hard, but he was always second best as Robertson dictated terms in frame nine and a typically pinpoint break of 82 moments later allowed him to win his fourth frame on the bounce and book his place in the last eight.
Higgins outgunned by impressive Yuelong
John Higgins' bid for a third UK Championship success is over for another year after he was beaten 6-2 by the impressive Zhou Yuelong.
Higgins found himself 3-0 down after Yuelong kicked off proceedings with breaks of 90 and 60, but the veteran Scot looked likely to get up and running when laying the snooker he required to win frame four, only to play a poor safety shot on the following pink and allow his opponent to pot from distance.
With his back firmly against the wall, Higgins returned from the break in trademark fashion, producing a masterful clearance of 72 when Yuelong had only been a few pots away from extending his lead to 5-0.
Higgins really ought to have reduced his arrears to 4-2, but he continued to make mistakes as Yuelong put himself within one frame from victory before Higgins kept his hopes alive with a stubborn hand of 80 in frame seven.
Both players mixed high-quality safety play with unforced errors as the tension grew, but when Higgins inexplicably missed an easy green with the colours at his mercy, Yuelong did the rest to seal an impressive victory.
Elsewhere, Joe Perry won the last four frames to clinch victory over Jamie Jones by the same scoreline.
