John Higgins v Mark Allen LIVE: World Snooker Championship scores and latest updates

Oh wow. Higgins misses another black, as he did in the first frame of the evening, and this one was even simpler! The only excuse is that he was perhaps thinking about the cue ball as he tried to carefully cannon against the pink, but he’s furious with himself.

Allen comes back to the table only 26 points behind, although the balls are a little awkwardly spread with two reds and the pink against the top cushion…

Allen breaks off and a red shoots towards the right corner pocket. It’s not straightforward, but Higgins buries the long pot from the baulk cushion, and that will be a confidence-booster, as much as a platform in the frame itself.

Allen misses the last red! It was a delicate, fine drop into the middle pocket and it bounced back out against the far jaw. He frowns and sits back down. How big a moment might that be in this match? Higgins knocks in the colours to clinch the frame and end his losing streak.

Higgins runs out of position trying to split the bunch of reds and ends up having to play safe. But he’s left Allen a chance to get back into the frame, and he takes it with an excellent pot into the middle pocket. Higgins currently leads this frame 55-34 as Allen tries to plot his way around the table, with two reds remaining.

Allen buries a long red following Higgins’ break-off, but misses the following blue into a top corner pocket – Allen mutters “that’s so bad” as he walks back to the table. He’s right, it wasn’t great. Now Higgins is building a potentially frame-winning break…

Allen finally closes out that scrappy opening frame to win his fifth in a row in this match and open up a three-frame lead. He’s only three frames away from the quarter-finals. Higgins will need to get that missed black out of his mind quickly because he can scarcely afford to lose the next.

Allen virtually clinches the frame with only two reds left on the table, although Higgins gamely returns looking to earn the snookers he needs to get back into it.

Higgins comes up with a clever plant to send a red into the corner pocket, but then misses a black down the rail that he would expect to make. Allen returns, and this time he should be able to put some points on the board.

Allen loses control of the cue ball and is forced to play safe, pushing the cue ball against the baulk cushion. He leads 23-15, and this nervy opening frame of the evening feels crucial.

Higgins’ break doesn’t last long! It ends after only 15 points after he misses a red attempting a cut into the corner pocket, hitting it far too thick. Allen is back sooner than he would have imagined.