Earlier on Tuesday, four-time world champion Higgins produced a superb performance to gain a 6-0 win over China’s He Guoqiang and move into the last 16 of the UK Championship.
Higgins, 49, made breaks of 110, 92, 72 and 64 as he dominated his 24-year-old Chinese opponent, a player down at 60th in the world rankings and who had to get through three qualifying rounds to get to York.
The 14th-seeded Scot has won this tournament three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2010, and also lost in the final in 1996 and 2009.
Against He, Higgins scored a total of 554 points, compared to only 107 from his opponent, for the second 6-0 tournament win in two days after Kyren Wilson thrashed Stephen Maguire by the same score on Monday.
“When I play like that I’m a match for anyone,” said Higgins. “I got off to a decent start and put the pressure on him. He had a few chances but it’s difficult out there when things go wrong.
“It’s a special venue, but I’ve never really done great here and it’s a great venue to play in.”
