John Higgins finished off Stephen Lee tonight to pass his first test at the Betfred.com World Championship.

Neil Robertson was facing a battle to stay in the Betfred.com World Championship after Judd Trump made life difficult for last year’s winner in their first-round clash.

Barry Hearn has vowed to do whatever it takes to avoid the “nightmare scenario” of another corruption scandal engulfing this year’s Betfred.com World Championship.

Suspended snooker star John Higgins wept down the phone to Barry Hearn but was warned last night that his snooker future will be in peril if newspaper allegations that he agreed to fix frames at tournaments can be confirmed.

Ryan Day became the third seeded player to crash out in the first round at the Betfred.com World Championship as Mark Davis followed namesake Steve into the last 16.

Steve Davis was bracing himself for a clash with reigning Crucible king John Higgins after becoming the oldest winner of a match at the Betfred.com World Championship for 21 years.

Former poker club croupier Martin Gould provided the first shock of the Betfred.com World Championship as Marco Fu folded in their first-round clash.

John Higgins has set his sights on winning another two world titles after joining the small band of players to have triumphed three times.

Mark King and Stephen Maguire set a new Crucible record for slow play as their second-round match began this afternoon.

Shaun Murphy set up a second-round showdown with Marco Fu after denying Andrew Higginson a dream debut at the Betfred.com World Championship.

Stephen Hendry believes leaving the Crucible on a permanent basis should be out of the question as the Betfred.com World Championship organisers consider the future of their event.

The North's Mark Allen had one foot in the second round of the Betfred.com World Championship after tearing to a 7-2 lead over Martin Gould.

Ronnie O’Sullivan missed out on a possible £157,000 (€177,000) jackpot but still clinched a commanding lead over Stuart Bingham in their first-round match at the Betfred.com World Championship.

The World Snooker Championship has received a financial boost after a new title sponsor for the tournament was revealed in London today.