NO QUARTER GIVEN

So a great night at the Crucible has left us with eight men left standing in the Betfred.com World Championship.

I'm sure you all saw the drama unfold last night so let's press on with the quarter-finals, every one of which has the potential to be a classic...

GRAEME DOTT V JUDD TRUMP
Dott once again demonstrated his fearlessness under pressure in putting away Ali Carter while Trump played his entertaining attacking game to great effect against Martin Gould.

Trump has the advantage of being young and therefore having no Crucible war wounds, no mental scars that will cause doubts to creep in.

He is enjoying himself - palpably - and will doubtless continue in the same vein today.

But Dott is a Crucible form horse; a former champion whose game suits these long matches where psychology can be just as important as form.

That experience may well prove to be the vital ingredient over their three sessions.

MARK SELBY V DING JUNHUI
"If you keep playing like that you'll win it," said Stephen Hendry to Mark Selby after he was beaten 13-4 by the Leicester Jester.

Selby certainly played superbly, scoring heavily and making the most of virtually every chance. His advantage over Ding is that the Chinese expended considerable mental energy last night in fighting back against Stuart Bingham.

But Ding has cleared a little Crucible hurdle by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in his career and, while he may not relax as such, he has at least proved he can handle the pressure in Sheffield.

Selby has not won a major title this season but is clearly cueing beautifully. The real key to this match will be how Ding responds to his late night drama. He needs to punish any Selby mistakes.

MARK WILLIAMS V MARK ALLEN
It seems an age since these two won their respective second round matches. Williams has coasted through so far while Allen has had to survive two deciders.

Williams remains a joy to watch when in full flow. He makes the game look ridiculously easy, as if it's no effort, but of course the effort has been put in throughout the season and he has played some great stuff all year.

Allen is a fighter but he surely can't afford to go too far behind to Williams. The Northern Irishman needs to play his best stuff from the start, try and treat each session as a separate match. His intensity and will to win are among his best assets and he has to use them.

Williams needs to be put under pressure, otherwise he will surely continue his canter towards the final.

JOHN HIGGINS V RONNIE O'SULLIVAN
What is there left to say about these two? They first played at the Crucible 15 years ago, met in the final ten years ago and are still each capable of brilliance.

For Higgins, the second round was a chore. He got weighed down by Rory McLeod but it'll be a different match against O'Sullivan, who stuttered a little before putting away Shaun Murphy.

O'Sullivan's mood in Sheffield has been good and his discipline has been strong. He has treated the game with the respect it deserves and got the reward.

There are few players he respects as much as Higgins and the feeling is mutual. What a match this could be.

In close, O'Sullivan looks as good as ever but his long game isn't quite firing on all cylinders and this may be a factor.

Higgins's all round game is terrific and he clearly has the stomach for the fight but he hasn't yet played the sort of world beating snooker that suggests he is going to steamroller anyone.

Higgins has won their last couple of meetings and, on form this season, should be the slight favourite but when players of this quality clash the formbook goes out of the window. It's the sort of match where you could see them both raising their games.