Higgins hits 1,000th century in English Open defeat

John Higgins became the second player to hit 1,000 centuries on his way to a narrow 4-3 last-16 defeat to Mark Allen in the English Open.

Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the landmark in 2019, with Higgins back on 745 three-figure breaks at the time.

But scores of 108 and 109 saw the 49-year-old draw level at 3-3 before Allen took a long and tense final frame in Brentwood.

Four-time world champion Higgins has hit 13 maximum 147 breaks in his career, again only second to O'Sullivan. His first century came in the 1992-93 season, with his most prolific campaign coming in 2021-22 when he hit 58., external

Reigning English champion Judd Trump moved to 998 centuries during his 4-2 win over Fan Zhengyi. Trump will now play another Chinese player Wu Yize in the quarter-finals.

Allen faces Chris Wakelin or Pang Junxu and Mark Selby will play India's Ishpreet Singh Chadha, the first Indian to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking event in 11 years.

He only joined the tour at the start of last season after moving to snooker from being a professional gamer playing Counterstrike Global Offensive., external

Neil Robertson will play either Barry Hawkins or Kyren Wilson in the final quarter-final.