Riyadh Season World Masters: John Higgins misses out on historic 167 break in Mark Williams win, Ali Carter triumphs

The inaugural tournament in Saudi Arabia introduced the ‘Riyadh Season ball’, a golden ball which can only be potted once all other balls have been cleared from the table if a player is on a maximum break.

Higgins racked up a break of 120 points in the opening frame before the white ball tucked up right next to the yellow, which he could not pot, ending his valiant effort.

Nevertheless, the strong start gave him the commanding early lead he was looking for in the second round match, before Williams clawed a frame back to level the score.

Higgins won the net two frames before Williams halved the deficit with a match-high break of 122, but the Scot closed out the match with a run of 64 in the sixth frame.

He will play Ronnie O’Sullivan for a spot in the semi-final.

Elsewhere, Ali Carter edged a 4-3 victory over Ding Junhui in Saudi Arabia to book his spot in the quarter-finals.

Ding started the match in excellent form and dominated the table early on as he knocked in a prolific break of 138 to take the early advantage on his second visit.

The No. 9 rank missed a long red at the beginning of the second frame which allowed Carter in, and from there, The Captain hardly put a foot wrong as he stormed into the lead.

He scored 69 points to level the match and then came close to a century of his own, firing in a break of 94 to take the lead for the first time.

The world No. 8 continued his good form at the baize to put down another sizeable run, this time worth 91 points, as he moved to within a frame of victory.

Ding fought back to prevent a comfortable win for Carter and managed a break worth 74 points to cut the deficit in half.

The Chinese player completed the comeback to level the match with his second century of the match and a total break of 120 to force a decider.

In a dramatic finish to the game, there was a controversial free ball to give Ding a way back into the frame after falling 60-0 behind.

He fought back, but Carter did enough to seal the victory when Ding potted the green ball which went in-off, as he chased two snookers.

“I scraped over the line, really,” Carter told Eurosport after the game. “I missed the black at 3-1 and then I never saw the ball until I was 3-3.

“It was always going to be a nervy one in the end, we can read this game like an open book sometimes.”

He added: “I’m delighted to get through because I’ve got a terrible record over Ding. He’s one of the top players that I haven’t beaten all that often.”

Carter will play current world champion Luca Brecel in the next round as the pair eye a spot in the last four.