Higgins clings to title dreams

The afternoon had seen Stephen Maguire and Mark King slug out the longest frame the venue has ever seen, one which lasted for one hour, 14 minutes and 58 seconds.

But Higgins and Cope shared eight superb frames in the space of two thrilling hours to instantly revive the tournament after defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan's exit left it with a heavy hangover.

The 33-year-old champion of 1998 and 2007 and his fearless young opponent will resume on Monday at 8-8 in their second-round tussle, with five more frames required for victory.

The slow-play record fell in the second frame of the afternoon session featuring King and Maguire, which finished with the pair locked at 4-4.

When Maguire finally potted the black to win it 70-56, the clock showed the pair had taken two seconds short of an hour and a quarter to sink all the balls.

Maguire, who was installed as tournament favourite by bookmakers after O'Sullivan's shock defeat, had lost the first frame after King made a break of 93. So despite the record-setting second frame being a grind, the 28-year-old Glaswegian was grateful when King missed the pink, to allow him to pot the final two balls.

It took the Scottish cueman less than 18 minutes to grab the third frame following a break of 59, however he was struggling to dominate King, who battled well to lead 4-3. Maguire fell behind in the eighth frame but a clinching break of 33 ensured the session finished level, and they will play to a finish over two sessions on Monday.

While Maguire rarely looked like a champion-in-waiting, the 2007 runner-up Mark Selby provided more persuasive evidence of his credentials to succeed O'Sullivan. Selby, from Leicester, won four frames in a row after the mid-session interval to move 6-2 ahead against Scotland's Graeme Dott.

The second session of Neil Robertson's match against last year's beaten finalist Ali Carter was not played at the same frantic pace as the Higgins-Cope sprint, but it was rich in drama. Robertson held a 5-3 lead coming into the session, and emerged with his two-frame advantage intact at 9-7.