John Higgins sees off Noppon Saengkham to reach first World Championship quarter-final for three years at the Crucible

John Higgins completed the job to beat Noppon Saengkham and reach the World Championship quarter-final for the first time in three years. Leading 11-5 overnight thanks to a run of seven straight frames on Sunday, four-time champion Higgins needed just two more frames to seal the victory. Ad/> He moved within one after a break of 62 in the 17th frame, but Saengkham then delayed the inevitable when taking the next two frames, which included a shot at a 147.

/> World Championship'What a shame!' — Saengkham suffers 147 heartbreak on final redAN HOUR AGO A maximum had not seemed possible when Saengkham got to the table, but he expertly opened the pack, only to miss the last and most difficult red – a tight shot into the bottom-right corner while using the rest. The Thai world No.38’s resistance ended with that 112, as Higgins took frame 20 with a 90 break to win 13-7 and book a meeting with the winner of Neil Robertson’s match with Jack Lisowski. «His friends and family were all up there,» Higgins said afterwards, on Saengkham's 147 attempt.

«He was just willing it to do it for them. He had all the crowd on his side. He's got that infectious personality.

»Everybody loves him. Even after yesterday when I was 4-4 after the first session he was giving it the fist pumps, he's bumped into me. If it were any other player, you would be getting the hump with him.