After last year's first-round defeat and a below-par season, the 'Wizard of Wishaw' thinks he is peaking at the right time after a devastating second session against O'Brien that contained breaks of 135, 100, 98 and 85.

O'Brien paid tribute to way Higgins had played, saying: "John was brilliant last night, it was fabulous stuff. It was good watch on one level because it gives you good motivation to go back and improve because that's where the bar is.

"It's all good experience and it beats watching someone else being beaten on TV! I felt I was playing well but I ran into John when he was flying last night and in the blink of an eye he was gone."

World number four Higgins was in buoyant mood after the victory.

"It was good to feel like that again - it's been a little while," he said. "I felt I wasn't going to miss.

"I feel my game is there and that I can go on and do well. I'm just trying to keep myself focused and calm.

"In the past, I've looked at the draw too much and thought about who I'd like to play, but now I'm just trying to get focused on every match and, if I play well, I have every chance of winning."

Elsewhere, Stephen Hendry briefly delayed the inevitable before making his anticipated exit from the chmapionship.

The seven-time champion resumed his second-round match against Ali Carter trailing 12-4, with the Essex player needing only one more frame to reach the quarter-finals.

It was always going to be a case of Hendry trying to add some respectability to the scoreline and he achieved that to a degree when he took the first two frames without making a half-century break.

But that proved the end of the comeback as Carter took frame 19 without having to do anything exceptional, completing a 13-6 win to book a place in the last eight for the first time.

Hendry's exit completed another campaign without a title for the world number one, who was trying out a new cue in this event after struggling to find his form.

"It was the story of my season out there," said the 38-year-old Scot.

"For some reason, I can't reproduce the way I play in practice in a match.

"I don't seem to be able to cue with the same freedom and therefore I can't play my natural game. That's like giving people a 50-point start in every frame.

"I'm obviously lacking confidence - I haven't won a tournament for three years. If you haven't got that ultimate self-belief, you will struggle.

"But I don't want to take anything away from Allister. I thought his performance was fantastic. His safety play especially was some of the best that's ever been played against me. I can't remember being snookered so much in my life."

Carter, who also beat Hendry in the quarter-finals of this season's Malta Cup, denied it had been the best result of his career but was pleased with the way he had done his job.

"I kept Stephen under pressure and it was a good performance and a good result for me," said the 27-year-old from Essex.

"It's a different kind of pressure going to bed 12-4 up because you have one foot in the quarter-finals but then you think it's still possible for him to win.

"But I was confident with the way I was playing and thought that when I get a good chance I'll take it, and I did."

Earlier, Neil Robertson showed why he has been the season's form player when he battled back from 8-3 down to draw level at 8-8 with Ronnie O'Sullivan.

The Australian, the only man to have won two ranking titles in this campaign, was 6-2 down after yesterday's opening session when he missed crucial pots to give a big advantage to 'The Rocket'.

But the 'Melbourne Machine' was clearly unfazed by that disappointing start and, after O'Sullivan had made a 105 to extend his lead to 8-3, Robertson went on a run of five in succession with some brilliant break-building to give himself every chance for tonight's conclusion.

On the other table, Mark Selby compiled three consecutive century breaks as he built a surprise 10-6 lead over 2002 champion Peter Ebdon.