'Class of 92' shine on thrilling day at the Crucible

Ronnie O'Sullivan was in dominant form and John Higgins won a final-frame decider to set up an enticing quarter-final with Mark Williams as snooker's legendary 'Class of 92' stars thrilled again at the World Championship.

Williams, 50, and 49-year-olds O'Sullivan and Higgins have won 14 world titles between them - and they each stayed on course for further glory on a super Saturday at the Crucible.

Welshman Williams beat Iran's Hossein Vafaei 13-10 to become the oldest quarter-finalist in 15 years, since Steve Davis reached the last eight in 2010 at the age of 52.

Williams then said he wanted Higgins to join him in the next phase, and the Scot, after blowing match-winning chances in the 23rd and 24th frames, held his nerve in a late-night decider to triumph 13-12 against Xiao Guodong.

O'Sullivan is also in a great place to join Williams and Higgins in the quarter-finals as he raced to a 6-2 lead against China's Pang Junxu in the first session of their last-16 match.

'The Rocket' is aiming to become the first man in the modern era to win the event eight times and his match with qualifier Pang, who is ranked 27th in the world, resumes at 14:30 BST on Sunday.

O'Sullivan had won the closing five frames in his 10-4 success over Ali Carter in round one and raced into a 4-0 lead against Pang, aided by breaks of 58, 91, 50 and 63.

Pang made a 119 break in frame five, but that was his only run above 50. He had a chance to end only two frames behind, but another miss in frame eight helped O'Sullivan inch a step closer to the winning target in the best-of-25-frame match.

O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams all joined the professional tour in 1992, and 33 years later they remain formidable competitors on the biggest stages. With nine days remaining of this championship, they remain in the trophy hunt yet again.

Higgins and Williams will play their first quarter-final session at 10:00 BST on Tuesday, with the second session at 19:00 on the same day, with the third session scheduled for 10:00 BST on Wednesday.

That schedule means the veteran campaigners face a lot of snooker in a short space of time.

On the match-up, Higgins said: "It was different maybe 20-odd years ago when we were really big rivals - now we walk into the practice room and we give each other a nod as if to say: 'How are we still here competing with everybody?'

"It's incredible, and obviously you throw Ronnie into the mix as well - three special players."

John Parrott, the 1991 world champion, was full of admiration for the pair and said on BBC Two: "If you need a man for the final frame - like Mark Williams, who finished in style today - it's John Higgins.

"All these years later, still doing the same thing, it was a pretty flawless final frame. He's just a remarkable player, he always has been. It's the sternest examination when you play John Higgins at the Crucible and he's still doing it now, which is an incredible achievement at his age."

Three-time world champion Williams held a 9-7 advantage after the second session on Friday and he took two of the first three frames on Saturday.

Qualifier Vafaei made breaks of 74 and 72 to narrow the gap to 11-10, but Williams was not to be denied and pressed on towards the winning post, fashioning a stylish 115 to seal his victory.

The second-round match between Higgins and Xiao was poised at 12-11 after the morning session but only seven of the scheduled nine frames could be completed.

With the afternoon session scheduled to begin at 14:30 BST, Higgins and Xiao were hauled off shortly before 14:15.

Higgins squandered a glorious chance to wrap up victory as he led 53-33 in the 23rd frame but missed a black off the spot before Xiao kept his tournament hopes alive.

They resumed on the first available table on Saturday evening, and there was to be more drama.

Higgins led 58-25 while in the reds in frame 24, only to miss a match-ball pink and lose the frame on the black as Xiao took it to a decider.

But Higgins made a break of 75 in the final frame to advance.

As well as his trophy wins, Higgins has lost in four further finals at the Crucible, gone out in the semi-finals on three occasions and fallen at the last-eight hurdle seven times, including the past two seasons.