Higgins holds Lee at bay

JOHN HIGGINS finished off Stephen Lee last night to pass his first test at the Betfred.com World Championship.

The 35-year-old briefly came under pressure when Lee fought back from 8-3 to 8-5 at the mid-session interval, but breaks of 74 and 81 saw him make sure of his place in the second round.

Higgins now takes on Rory McLeod, the man accused by his first-round victim Ricky Walden of utilising “painful’’ tactics which would kill the game if every player adopted them.