Ronnie O'Sullivan maintained his decade-long dominance over Steve Davis to reach the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open in Newport.
'The Rocket' was not at his best but did enough to score a 5-3 victory over the six-times world champion, who has not beaten him since the 1998 Masters.
Since then, O'Sullivan has put together a 14-match unbeaten run against Davis, which remained intact despite problems with his cue-tip he refused to discuss after the match.
The result transported the consistent O'Sullivan into a seventh consecutive world ranking event quarter-final and the 74th of his career.
‘It was good to get over the line. It's all good in the hood,’ said a smiling O'Sullivan, who before despatching 50-year-old Davis, sent 18-year-old Judd Trump packing in the second round.
‘I want to just keep ticking over, getting to quarters, semi-finals, finals and nicking the odd title. I'm not greedy.
‘The great thing with me at the moment is that I'm enjoying my snooker, not just matches but my practice as well.
‘I have done for quite a while and it feels like a hobby again,’ added O'Sullivan, already winner of the Premier League and UK Championship this season.
When O'Sullivan stormed through the opening two frames with stylish breaks of 72 and 88, Davis looked to be heading for a heavy and rapid defeat.
However, the veteran took the third frame with a run of 63 and was poised to add the next for level terms until, 55 to the good, he missed a straightforward red to a middle pocket and O'Sullivan pounced with a 68 clearance.
O'Sullivan, who then stole a scrappy fifth frame on the blue before temporarily losing focus.
Davis rallied to 4-3 but after potting only one ball in frames six and seven, O'Sullivan rediscovered his range with a 69 break to move on.
Mark Selby, surfing the crest of a tidal wave of confidence after winning the Saga Insurance Masters at Wembley last month, also made the quarter-finals thanks to his 5-2 victory over Ken Doherty.
Exploiting virtually every opportunity afforded him, Selby fired in breaks of 71, 66, 60 and 114 to build a 4-1 lead.
Doherty, renowned as one of the sport's most tenacious fighters, briefly came to life when he erased a 50-point deficit in frame six with a stubborn 92 clearance.
That was that, though, as far as the Dubliner's comeback was concerned as Selby controlled the seventh frame to set up advance.
Joe Perry, in outstanding form en route to hammering number seven seed Peter Ebdon 5-1 in the previous round, remained fluent during his 5-2 win over Stuart Bingham.
World number 18 Perry compiled breaks of 59, 107 and 115 - the latter two in back-to-back frames. He now faces Shaun Murphy or Mark Williams.
Shaun Murphy's march towards a second title in as many weeks gathered momentum when he breezed into the quarter-finals.
Four days after flying in from the Mediterranean with the Malta Cup in his luggage, the 2006 world champion continued to engage top gear as he ended Welsh interest in the tournament by beating Mark Williams 5-2.
Williams, desperate for points having slumped to 33rd on the provisional world list, held Murphy to 2-2 with a run of 100 in the fourth frame.
But there was no stopping Murphy after the interval as breaks of 105, 129 and 68 gave him the following three frames in just 38 minutes.
Murphy, who beat Williams by the same 5-2 scoreline at the corresponding stage of the Welsh Open two years ago, said: ‘I hit the ball very well. That's the kind of performance I've been working towards.
‘It's the best snooker match I've played for a long time.
‘Every time Mark gave me a chance I hit him hard and my tactical game was good as well. You can't ask for much more than that.’
Murphy, who has put together an eight match-winning streak, will be a red-hot favourite to prevail next time out against Joe Perry but is taking nothing for granted.
World number 18 Perry highlighted his 5-2 win over Stuart Bingham with back-to-back century breaks.
The quarter-final line-up was completed by John Higgins, who booked his first appearance in the last eight of a ranking tournament since he triumphed at the Crucible nine months ago.
Higgins was back to his relentless best, and detained for only 83 minutes, in overwhelming China's Ding Junhui 5-1.
Ding potted just two reds in the first four frames as Higgins pulled away in top-notch fashion with quality contributions of 75, 114, 81, 32 and 44.
From there, Ding could find no way back as Higgins secured a rematch with Mark Selby, his 18-13 victim in the World Championship final last year.
