Higgins makes short work of Holt

The 1998 and 2007 champion had been 4-2 behind against Nottingham's Holt at one stage on Wednesday but he lost only one more frame as he emerged a 10-5 winner.

Higgins made breaks of 131, 68 and 80 on Thursday, winning the closing four frames in rapid fashion to set up a clash with Jamie Cope in the last 16.

Higgins said: "I was delighted to get over the winning line.

"Winning 10-5 maybe looks like plain sailing but there were maybe one or two frames which swung my way which was the deciding factor.

"I'm feeling good. I've been playing a lot worse coming into this championship before and done okay. I feel my game is there to be found and I'll definitely need to find it."

The second round was getting under way on the other table and Stephen Hendry and Ding Junhui were tied at 4-4 after an entertaining first session.

Seven-time champion Hendry survived a tricky opening match against Mark Williams, while Ding overcame his fellow Chinese player Liang Wenbo.

Ding moved into a 3-1 lead with breaks of 59, 112 and 88, however Hendry hit back by taking the next three frames.

He made sharp runs of 91 and 76 during the session to indicate his best form is coming back at just the right time, after a largely disappointing season. But Ding secured the eighth frame after breaks of 58 and 32 to ensure they will resume on level terms tomorrow morning, with 13 frames required to advance to the quarter-finals.