John Higgins takes 8-0 lead to bring Kyren Wilson down to earth at Crucible

John Higgins brought Kyren Wilson back down to the earth at the Crucible, hitting vintage form to claim a scarcely-believable 8-0 lead in their second-round clash at the world snooker championship on Sunday.

The four-times former champion reeled off three centuries, and three more breaks over 50 to take total charge of the match. Wilson, the 2020 finalist who hit a 147 in his first-round win over Ryan Day, is now facing a battle to extend the match past a second session.

Higgins has had one of his most disappointing seasons with a string of early exits from ranking events, but he cruised past David Grace 10-3 in his Crucible opener. The Wizard of Wishaw laid down a marker here, starting with 136 and 137 total clearances, before a break of 57 allowed him to establish a three-frame advantage.

Wilson was kept in his seat again as Higgins clinched the final frame before the mid-session interval – although a third century temporarily eluded him as he settled for a break of 77. The first two frames after the resumption were scrappier affairs but Wilson could not get on the board as Higgins moved out of sight.

Further breaks of 134 and 80 saw the Scot claim a remarkable first-session whitewash against a player seeded three spots above him. Higgins, the No 10 seed, needs just five more frames to book a quarter-final against Mark Selby or Gary Wilson.

That match resumes on Sunday afternoon with Selby leading 5-3, while Anthony McGill looks to complete victory over Jack Lisowski after taking a 7-1 overnight lead.