John Higgins had two maximums in an exhibition in Scotland last week and the last time Mark Williams won the World Championship he had two 147s in an exhibition the week before.

We wondered if today was going to be the last appearance for John Higgins.

But he's been in fine form so far and is only two frames away from moving into the last 16 and coming back on Saturday, Sunday and Monday for a mouth-watering last-16 tie against world number three Mark Allen.

If Jamie Jones needs some inspiration though, he just needs to think of his final qualifying round match last week when he trailed 5-8 to Neil Robertson before eliminating the 2010 world champion 10-9 after a decider.

John Higgins needs to win two matches to retain his top-16 world ranking which is incredible really because he has been in there for so long.

It is a huge championship for the Wizard of Wishaw which makes his performance this evening more impressive.

John Higgins hits an appalling break-off shot at the start of the 14th frame, with the white hitting the blue, but gets away with it. Jamie Jones takes on a risky red down the left rail but gets zero reward.

The Welshman is well wide and looks like he's left a red for Higgins in the pack.

Indeed he has but this isn't easy...Higgins makes it look so, mind, as he sends it into the heart of the top right bin.

Quite scrappy, with moments of brilliance.

Tom Ford was on a break of 53 but well wide of the mark with a cut on the pink.

He regrouped and a beautiful long red into the top left help put him back on level terms

Image source, WDBS

Here's more on the gold medallists from the World Abilitysport Games and their time at the Crucible.

Carl Gibson, one of three English players to win a gold medal at the event in Thailand, did not think he was going to be introduced to the crowd before the start of Wednesday's play, but was delighted to have had that experience.

“I was not expecting that. It has put a permanent smile on my face and gave me goosebumps," said Gibson. "It was just surreal and how the players feel when they are walking in with that crowd must be amazing."

Fellow gold medallist Tony Southern added: “It was fantastic being introduced to the crowd and I will never forget that day. My dad was messaging me saying he was recording it.

"It was fantastic and now I know how these players must feel making their first appearance at the Crucible and how they manage to hold a cue and play the way they do is amazing."

Image source, WDBS

Should John Higgins get over the line in this match he'll face Northern Ireland's Mark Allen in the second round.

It's a contest that has become a pretty familiar theme this season.

The duo have already met five times this term in the Tour Championship, Welsh Open, German Masters, The Masters and the Champion of Champions, with Allen having a slight edge (winning three of those meetings).

Image source, WDBS

Disability snooker is growing at a rapid rate and in December, England won three gold medals at the World Abilitysport Games in Thailand, a multi-sport event which featured competitors from nine countries taking part in the snooker competitions.

The three English gold medallists - Tony Southern, Carl Gibson and Gary Swift as well as Thai champions Songkiat Raebankoo and Thanapol Seekao - have all been at the Crucible on Wednesday and Thursday.

The group were introduced to the crowd before Wednesday morning’s session, played exhibition matches at the Cue Zone at the nearby Winter Garden and went on a tour of the iconic Crucible on Thursday.

Southern said: “To play from a chair is probably 10 times more difficult than when I was standing up playing because you have to play 70% of your shots with a rest or extension so you have to be super-hot with the rest in order to compete.

“I have cerebral palsy which I’ve had since birth. It affected my walking, I was playing standing up until the age of 40 then it got too bad in terms of falls so I decided to play from a chair and not looked back since.

“The standard is getting higher and higher. We recently had one of one visually impaired players get a 100 break at an event and one of our players with an amputee got a maximum in practice.

“The wheelchair players are regularly getting 40 or 50 breaks at events. My best in a chair is 87, which is probably the equivalent of 130 when standing up because of the complexity of trying to get around the table and play your shots with the rest.”

Image source, BBC Four

John Higgins may not have the highest break of this match but he is edging Jamie Jones across all the other key statistics.

John Higgins takes a three-frame lead to the mid-session interval with a run of 59.

John Higgins is picking off all the available reds but still has work to do. That's a lovely shot mind, opening up three as he drops another into the right corner and heads towards his fourth half century of the match.

Pundit John Virgo has been waxing lyrical on BBC Four with 'back in my day' stories which cause some chuckles in the Crucible crowd.

There's a thin line between making viewers smile and going over the top, with many fans in the venue listening to the BBC commentary via earpieces. You don't want to create TOO much noise.

Not much to laugh about for Tom Ford, who suffers from cold hands - according to Joe Perry - and appears to be using hand warmers.

Trump goes one ahead thanks to a 67 break, but the match is yet to hot up.

Image source, PA Media

John Higgins misses a long red by an absolute country mile. Huge test of his cueing coming up as he takes on another into the opposite corner.

This time the red hits the back of the pocket but he can't convert this chance into a sizable break and is playing safe. Very safe as it happens and he earns another go when Jamie Jones nudges a red towards the left corner and can't get any cover.

No half century for Jamie Jones but he's back within two frames.

Dare I say it...but Jamie Jones should take a frame back here.

A wry smile as a cannon goes wrong for John Higgins but it's no problem he'll just knock a difficult red into the left middle.

He looks a little less amused after failing to roll a pink into the same bag after convincing himself to go for it.

Big chance for a Jamie Jones counter here.

Image source, Michael Emons

As the second round gets under way, what a tournament it has been with eight of the top 16 exiting already. Out have gone defending champion Luca Brecel, four-time winner Mark Selby, Mark Williams, who has won three times, plus Ding Junhui, Ali Carter, Gary Wilson, Zhang Anda and Barry Hawkins.

That’s the equal most number of seeds to go out in the first round - level with the eight that fell in 1980, 1992 and 2012.

Jamie Jones will have to go some now this evening against John Higgins mind for a new Crucible record to be set.

Image source, Michael Emons

John Higgins really makes this game look so easy at times. The 31-time ranking event winner has a horrible shot from next to the blue but cooly drains a red into the bottom left corner.

A master at work at the moment.

Can Jamie Jones stop the rot? The Welshman smashes in a long red but gets unfortunate a couple of shots down the line when he tries to open up the reds off the blue and ties up the black.

Jones, looks for a safety up towards baulk but flukes a red into the bottom left corner and then knocks in the green.

With the reds now all broken up he'll have a tough pot incoming to keep his break going, he can't drain that mind but has played it in such a way that his opponent will be doing well to take advantage.

John Higgins plays a pretty decent safety but has Jones had a stroke of luck with his reply? The white is almost nestled on the ball.

Judd Trump turns 35 in August and he's looking to become a multiple Crucible champion after his sole world title five years ago.

He hasn't made a faultless start here against Tom Ford, but takes the second frame to level the match.

Image source, BBc