PA MediaMark Williams held off a superb fightback from fellow former winner John Higgins to triumph in a last-frame decider and reach his eighth World Championship semi-final at the Crucible.
The veteran duo, who have won seven world titles between them, were locked at 8-8 at the end of their second session before Williams put himself on the brink by taking all four frames on Wednesday’s resumption.
Four-time champion Higgins, though, dug in following the mid-session interval with breaks of 94, 114 and 67 to force a decider, which Williams took after his opponent missed a tense blue on the top cushion to seal a 13-12 victory.
Williams, who had trailed 5-1 earlier in the match, made the most of some unforced errors from Higgins, 49, to edge in front and then extend his lead to 10-8.
A couple of half-century breaks from the Welshman, who claimed the last of his three world titles in 2018, saw him seemingly close in on victory at 12-8 heading into the interval.
However, having regrouped, Higgins clawed a frame back before firing in 94 to move within two.
Williams, 50, then gave away a careless foul after touching the blue with his trailing arm when he was leaning over to pot a long red with the rest.
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