John Higgins came out on top of an all-star clash with Mark Williams at the inaugural China Championship to book a quarter-final meeting with Ali Carter.

The pair have a remarkable 46 ranking titles between them and they produced a nip and tuck encounter in Guangzhou.

With the scores at 3-3, Williams got in first in the seventh with a run of 67. However, Higgins countered magnificently and looked set to steal the frame before missing the pink. The Scot eventually got a second chance and beautifully cued the pink to the top right corner to put himself 4-3 ahead. Williams did level at 4-4 but the four-time World Champion Higgins took the last two frames to seal a 6-4 win.

Michael Holt secured the biggest payday of his career so far thanks to a 6-5 defeat of 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson. He earns £30,000 for progressing to the quarter-final stage.

“In the past I’ve been very inconsistent but my general level is better now,” said Holt. “I’m getting a lot more results but there are things that I can improve on that will make me an even stronger player. “

His next opponent will be Stuart Bingham, who overcame English Open Champion Liang Wenbo.

Bingham gained revenge for his defeat in the English Open semi-final with a comprehensive 6-2 victory.

Shaun Murphy survived a comeback charge from Joe Perry to reach the last eight. The Magician raced into a 4-0 advantage, however Perry forced his way back into the game. Eventually Murphy emerged a 6-4 winner.