Neil Robertson has reached his first world championship quarter-final in five years at the Crucible, where he'll face one of the game's all-time greats in a blockbuster last-eight clash.
Australia's master cueman, winner of the tournament back in his 2010 heyday, is playing some of his best snooker again at the age of 44 and cruised into the quarters by sealing a 13-7 victory over England's Chris Wakelin.
Leading 10-6 overnight, the "Thunder from Down Under" lost the first frame of the night with a nervy display, but then never looked back after compiling a 104 run in the next frame, eventually sealing victory with a break of 82 in the 20th rack.
It set him up for a clash against Scotland's four-times champion John Higgins, "the Wizard of Wishaw" who had earlier on Monday completed an extraordinary comeback to defeat fellow all-time great, seven-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan, 13-12 in an exhilarating last-frame shootout.
In a match of spellbinding quality, Higgins, who had twice been five frames behind, finally took his chance against his fellow 50-year-old, and will start favourite in the last-eight clash with the Australian.
But Robertson also remains one of the finest players the game has seen, and is, like Higgins, a 'triple crown' winner, having earned triumphs in the game's biggest three events - the world championships, UK championships and Masters.
Robertson will be in the quarter-finals for the ninth time in his glittering career that stretches back to his first appearance at the famed Sheffield venue 21 years ago, but he's had plenty of disappointments at this stage, having only ever three times got into the semis, including his victorious 2010 campaign.
But he'll have his work cut out with Higgins, who was outplayed in the early stages of the contest but hung on doggedly before finding his best form in a brilliant last session to scupper O'Sullivan's chances of a record eighth title.
"It's got to be up there," said Higgins, reflecting on the magnitude of a win from 8-3 and then 9-4 down.
"I'm just delighted I came to the party in the third session, because after the first two sessions, how I was only 9-7 behind, I'll never know. Ronnie was by far the better player.
"The atmosphere was incredible. I'll be honest, the ovation we got walking in there, it threw me. I just felt like I was like a rabbit in the headlights a little bit."
