Ronnie O'Sullivan has not seemed like a man in need of a helping hand as he pursues a fourth World Championship title but he benefited from the sportsmanship of Matthew Stevens at the Crucible in Sheffield last night.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, the triple world champion, powered to within a whisker of securing his quarter-final place here at the Betfred.com World Championship yesterday.

World champion John Higgins suffered a second-round defeat to Peter Ebdon at the China Open in Beijing yesterday.

Matthew Selt claimed another scalp in the Australian Goldfields Open with victory over seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry. World No 43 Selt, who came through qualifying, beat John Higgins on Tuesday and saw off Hendry 5-1 yesterday in the last 16.

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John Higgins was challenged by an angry fan here last night who called him "a disgrace" over last year's frame-fixing furore. The three-time world champion was engulfed by the affair 12 months ago following a newspaper sting operation on a trip to Kiev with former manager Pat Mooney.

Stephen Hendry, the seven-times world champion, avoided the ignominy of defeat with a session to spare at the World Championship. But the sport's greatest player must climb a mountain to keep his hopes of a record eighth Crucible crown alive, having slipped within one frame of being knocked out at the last 16 stage by Mark Selby, the 2007 finalist.

Stephen Hendry, the seven-times world champion, clung on for dear life to maintain his interest in this year's World Championship here in Sheffield. But despite his battling 10-9 first-round victory over Joe Perry, the 42-year-old dropped the biggest hint yet that he could retire this summer after a record 26th appearance at snooker's biggest tournament.

'The next O'Sullivan' is in fine form and could cause Neil Robertson some lost sleep ahead of their Crucible match, he tells Neil Goulding

Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins have been handed tough-looking first-round draws for the World Snooker Championship. O'Sullivan, who has fallen to 10th in the rankings, faces the Welshman Dominic Dale, while the world No 1 Higgins takes on Stephen Lee.

Neil Robertson advanced to the quarter-finals of the Masters at Wembley Arena yesterday with a 6-3 win over seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry. Australian Robertson, the reigning Crucible champion, recorded three breaks in the 80s as he kick-started his campaign with a comfortable win. He will face Ronnie O'Sullivan's conqueror Mark Allen in the next round.

Ronnie O'Sullivan suffered a first-round exit at the Masters yesterday as Mark Allen battled to a 6-4 win at Wembley Arena.

With John Higgins enjoying a day's respite prior to attempting today to convert his 36th appearance in a ranking final into his 22nd title, the second semi-final of the UK Championship here saw Mark Williams, seeking his third UK title eight years after his second, take a 5-3 interval lead over Shaun Murphy.