John Higgins v Mark Allen LIVE: World Snooker Championship scores and updates

Allen finally closes out that scrappy opening frame to win his fifth in a row in this match and open up a three-frame lead. He’s only three frames away from the quarter-finals. Higgins will need to get that missed black out of his mind quickly because he can scarcely afford to lose the next.

Allen virtually clinches the frame with only two reds left on the table, although Higgins gamely returns looking to earn the snookers he needs to get back into it.

Higgins comes up with a clever plant to send a red into the corner pocket, but then misses a black down the rail that he would expect to make. Allen returns, and this time he should be able to put some points on the board.

Allen loses control of the cue ball and is forced to play safe, pushing the cue ball against the baulk cushion. He leads 23-15, and this nervy opening frame of the evening feels crucial.

Higgins’ break doesn’t last long! It ends after only 15 points after he misses a red attempting a cut into the corner pocket, hitting it far too thick. Allen is back sooner than he would have imagined.

Mark Allen gets the first point on the board with a finely cut red into the right middle pocket from baulk, but then misses a pink into the left middle as it bounces agonisingly off the inside jaw. That’s one he would expect to make, and it lets Higgins back to the table with the balls spread in a promising position.

The players are out on the floor, and it’s Mark Allen to break.

BBC pundit Ken Doherty on how Allen turned this second-round match around yesterday in blistering fashion.

“John was totally out-classing him. He was trying to beat John, a grandmaster, at matchplay. Then he started going for his shots and made four 70+ breaks. He has to be more positive.”

Yesterday, Mark Allen edged 9-7 ahead in his last-16 meeting with John Higgins in a tight encounter between the pair.

After an even start, back-to-back wins in the 11th and 12th frames put Higgins in front, but Allen then took control by winning the next four frames on the bounce – which included a 94 break – to lead by two.

Meanwhile, Stuart Bingham fended off Jack Lisowski’s comeback to also take a 9-7 lead ahead of tonight’s reunion.

Bingham extended his lead to 6-3 after taking the ninth frame, but Lisowski responded by taking the next three to claw his way back into contention. However, Bingham finished strongly to take a two-frame advantage into the final session.

So not long now until John Higgins and Mark Allen resume their battle at the Crucible Theatre. The winner will play Kyren Wilson, who has been arguably the best player of the tournament so far.