Steven Hallworth
Snooker commentator on BBC Two

Higgins is looking loads better and you can tell he's feeling good as well because you have to be feeling pretty decent to make those clearances.

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

Shaun took a very risky plant on and it's OK taking it on, but he left two reds to the middle and that plant cost him.

Shaun has got to keep doing what he's doing because that's his natural game. If he gets a chance, he's going to try to win the frame with it, but he knows what he's up against in John Higgins.

You can't pick anything between them and it's turning out to be a wonderful match.

A scrappy frame in which both players made numerous mistakes but it's John Higgins that comes out on top.

After that final miss from Shaun Murphy, Higgins clears up with a break of 57.

The Scot is yet to trail today.

It's all becoming a bit edgy.

Shaun Murphy back to the table and on a break of eight looks to plant one into the middle pocket but it again rattles the jaw.

John Higgins gets another chance.

Image source, PA Media

Steven Hallworth
Snooker commentator on BBC Two

You could see the second it left the cue ball it was destined for that left jaw. You have to be so precise on these Championship tables but it was a shot he would have fancied knocking in. You can see his disappointment.

Where's the cue ball going....

Into the middle pocket.

Shaun Murphy pots a red into the bottom left but in doing so, watches his cue ball nestle into the middle pocket.

John Higgins comes to the table and misses the red to the bottom left. That pocket is causing him no end of trouble today!

Wow. Shot of the day so far from Shaun Murphy to rattle the yellow into the middle pocket and get himself away.

He'll have to deal with the bunch of reds shortly but for now he's going along well.

Image source, PA Media

Everyone had the chance to make a brew and get refreshed?

We're under way again and it's Shaun Murphy beginning with his third-red break-off shot and causing an instant headache for John Higgins.

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre

Snooker is booming. The appetite for the game across the globe is at record levels and prize money looks to only be heading in one direction, despite the recent loss of the lucrative Saudi Arabia Masters.

The World Championship has showcased a new wave of exciting talent, with Wu Yize reaching the semi-finals and the likes of Stan Moody, Liam Pullen and Antoni Kowalski all displaying their rich promise on their debuts.

John Higgins' march to the last four also suggests that the sport's fabled Class of 92 remain a force in the top echelons of the game.

Yet, against that positive backdrop, the condition of the sport's grassroots comes into view after years of decline for local snooker clubs.

BBC Sport looks at what went wrong and the efforts being made to deliver a resurgence.

Do you have any thoughts on the local snooker club scene and its future? Get in touch using the yellow Get Involved icon on this page.

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

They're both not at the top of their form, they've missed a few balls each, but overall if they get a chance, they're making enough to win the frame.

It could go like this throughout the match, with never more than one frame the difference, with the way they're playing.

Shaun Murphy misses on the blue but John Higgins concedes and it's as you were at the end of the mini session.

There is absolutely nothing separating these two after one-and-a-bit sessions so far.

Elias may well be right. Are we in for a good old 17-16?

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

I suggest Shaun Murphy will be feeling pretty relieved at the end of this mini session.

Image source, PA Media

Wonderful from John Higgins to pot a long red but he leaves himself with a very, very difficult black.

The Scot can only direct it into the jaws of the pocket and now leaves Shaun Murphy with a glorious chance to take the frame.

Shaun Murphy, on a break of 47, looks to cut a difficult red into the bottom right corner but can't quite execute it.

He looked to have overcome the more complicated of shots in that break and will be disappointed with that.

Fortunately for him, he hasn't left John Higgins with much.

There was a cry from encouragement from the crowd towards the Scot as he approached the table but he really doesn't have many options in front of him.

Didn't that just happen?

Same pocket, same angle, same outcome.

John Higgins looks to power a black into the bottom left corner but it once again rattles the jaws of the pocket. This time, though, he was only on a break of one and leaves the door right open for Shaun Murphy to rack up a good score.

Dennis Taylor
1985 world champion on BBC Two

Shaun's tip [after the miscue] looks OK, I had a look at it while he was chalking it.

Sometimes you can take a little piece out of the tip, which would spoil it completely and you'd have to put a new tip on.

But everything's fine and it didn't do any damage to the tip.

John Higgins does indeed retake the lead.

It wasn't as sparkling as it could have been after that miss on the black during his initial break but the only statistic that really matters is the scoreline.

Higgins leads by six frames to five.