Higgins edges out McLeod

World number one Higgins - chasing a fourth world title - resumed leading 10-5 overnight and moved 12-5 to the good with runs of 51 and 72.

Both men continued to miss some easy balls, but the slipshod nature of the contest seemed to visibly damage Higgins as McLeod dragged the match to a mid-session interval by winning two straight frames to close to 12-7.

McLeod should have made it 12-8, but was finally punished for a series of poor shots - both pots and safety attempts - as a clearance of 47 earned Higgins his place in the last eight.

The Scot will face Shaun Murphy or Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals.

While he will need to improve, he will probably know that his game can only get better against a more fluent attacking player than McLeod, who has an unfortunate propensity to turn frames into grim viewing for the paying public.

John Higgins took a commanding 10-5 lead over Rory McLeod in a gruelling World Championship second round match at the Crucible

In a very poor contest Higgins struggled to cope with McLeod’s style of play in a match that dissolved into a battle of attrition.

McLeod trailed 5-2 but took two arduous frames at the restart that took over 80-minutes and set the tone for the evening.

Higgins found some rhythm with a 72 to take the next before McLeod responded with a 56 – his highest of the match – to make it 5-6.

The match stagnated further preventing either player to find any fluency and the standard gradually grew worse as tiredness set-in.

The experienced Higgins managed to take his chances in the next four fragmented frames though to lead by five frames and will look to close at the tie as quickly as possible when play resumes in the best-of-25 encounter at 1pm.

John Higgins fought from 2-0 down to lead Rory McLeod 5-2 in the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield.

In a painfully slow session that was called to a close a frame short of the scheduled eight, Higgins struggled throughout but laboured to a comfortable lead in a low-scoring contest.

Higgins appeared to struggle with the morning start as McLeod poached a sloppy opening frame.

He should have levelled in the next after building a 68-point lead but after some uncharacteristically poor safety from the Scot, McLeod fought back and cleared to steal on the final black.

Higgins earned some much-needed table time with a 73 in the next to reduce his arrears and pulled level at the interval on the colours.

The three-times champion went into the lead for the first time with another drawn-out frame in the next and comfortably took the one following despite more alarming missed pots.

Higgins took another scrappy sixth frame and with the aid of some fine snookers made it 5-2 in the last of the session.

Play resumes at 7pm.