Mark Allen edges past John Higgins to reach Tour Championship quarter-final

Mark Allen edged John Higgins 10-7 to reach the quarter-finals of the Tour Championship in Manchester.

Four-time world champion Higgins got the best of the morning session and extended his lead to 4-1 before Allen played his way into form with a break of 123 before levelling up the scores in the afternoon session.

The Pistol showed a cool head as he took frames on the black on three separate occasions and moved two ahead for the first time at 8-6 after Higgins faltered on the pink.

The Scot took the next but Allen signed off with breaks of 93 and 100 to book his place in the last eight, where he will meet Ding Junhui.

Elsewhere at the Central Convention Complex, Mark Williams opened up a 5-3 lead over Tom Ford.

Ford helped himself to a century in a winning start to the match and later made a stylish 136, but it was Williams' consistent scoring that kept him ahead of the game.

Gary Wilson held the same advantage over Mark Selby after the pair faced off in the morning’s play. The Welsh Open champion had a best run of 101 and also passed 90 twice to establish an advantage heading into Tuesday’s resumption.