European Masters 2023: John Higgins overcomes Shaun Murphy to reach last eight, Luca Brecel edges Robbie Williams

John Higgins recorded a statement 5-2 victory over Shaun Murphy to reach the last eight of the European Masters.

Higgins sealed his place in a 135th ranking quarter-final where he will meet reigning champion Kyren Wilson, who recorded a second whitewash on Thursday, beating Duane Jones 5-0 after overcoming Si Jiahui by the same scoreline.

“I think just watching him in the first frame, the way he was striking the cueball and walking about spurred me on. He hits the ball like a dream. I was taking the positives from watching him and trying to add it into my game.

Murphy had come into the match in good form having whitewashed Ross Muir earlier on Thursday, and he made a statement in the opening frame with a break of 113, capitalising after Higgins overcut a black.

But Higgins was determined to prevent his opponent from gaining any momentum as he responded with a century of his own – ton number 943 of his career – with a run of 126.

Murphy had been in fine fettle coming into the match, but his form began to desert him as he allowed Higgins to build a lead of 66 which ultimately proved insurmountable.

‘The Magician’ began the fourth frame with a splendid red into left-centre but proceeded to miss another long red, a mistake that was punished by the ruthless Higgins who made a second ton of the evening.

The Scot moved closer to victory as he made it 4-1 as Murphy’s night went from bad to worse with a missed black to the left corner, and Higgins put the frame beyond him with a cameo of 14.

Murphy did extend the match by taking the sixth frame after being handed a helpful starter by Higgins. But another error in frame seven allowed Higgins to get his nose in front once again, and though Murphy attempted a fightback, the ‘Wizard of Wishaw’ was just out of his reach.

Turning to his quarter-final opponent, the in form Wilson, Higgins said: “Every credit to Kyren. He just seems to be at the latter stages of every tournament now.

“He obviously believes he is one of the best players and he is one of the best players. He is the defending champion and has won most of his games pretty easily this week.

“I am going to have to produce that same form again to give him a game tomorrow.”

Luca Brecel fought back from 3-0 down to beat Robbie Williams on a decider to book his place in the last 16 of the tournament.

Brecel, who is still undefeated as world champion, was initially far from his best but improved to take five of the last six frames.

Under pressure in a decider, Brecel finished with a flourish, a sensational 134 total clearance ensuring his place in the next round with Barry Hawkins, who beat Zak Surety 5-1.

Williams made his intentions clear with a 91 break to start with, taking the opening frame 101-9 after Brecel – who is playing with a new cue – left him with a decent opportunity following a missed long red.

A fluke on a red in the second frame helped Williams extend his lead as he chalked up a break of 57, capitalising on a blunder from Brecel whose poor effort at a red opened up the table for the Englishman.

The writing appeared to be on the wall for the world champion as Williams moved 3-0 in front. Full of confidence, the 36-year-old executed a perfect plant and proceeded to make a clever break of 63.

Brecel finally came to life with a brilliant plant of his own as he made a break of 42 and saw the job through with another 28 to take his first frame of the day and reduce the deficit.

Williams’ level dropped dramatically after the restart, his poor break-off allowing Brecel to close in as the Belgian made a rapid break of 86 to take the fifth frame.

Brecel then drew the match level at 3-3, edging an error-strewn frame. Although he was playing beneath himself, Brecel was still performing better than his opponent, and after building a 20-point lead in the seventh, he claimed another scrappy frame to take the lead for the first time.

Williams responded with the shot of the match – a thrilling long red – before missing a straightforward red which saw his break conclude at 46. Both players exchanged some poor shots but Williams had enough money in the bank to set up a decider.

A blistering trademark opening red from Brecel suggested he wasn’t feeling the heat, however, and after crafting a match-winning opportunity, he sealed the deal with a terrific 134 total clearance.

Meanwhile, Judd Trump thrashed Ben Woollaston 5-0 on Thursday evening, after scrambling past Chris Wakelin earlier in the day.

Earlier on Thursday, in the round of 32, Mark Selby eased past Anthony Hamilton 5-1, Jimmy Robertson defeated Mark Williams 5-4 and Dave Gilbert beat Ben Mertens by the same scoreline.