King enjoying life after edging Higgins

Mark King is enjoying his snooker again after staging an impressive comeback to defeat Scot John Higgins at the UK Championship in York.

The world No 21 won four of the last five frames for a 6-5 victory to reach the quarterfinals at the Barbican Centre.

Three-time champion Higgins, the fourth seed, held leads of 4-2 and 5-4 but King’s battling qualities came to the fore as he levelled the match and forced a deciding frame, which he clinched with break of 69, his highest of the match.

“There was a packed crowd in there and if you can’t get yourself up for those matches, you might as well just pack up,” King said on BBC Two.

“I said that about 18 months ago I was playing to pay bills and now I’m not, I’m playing to enjoy and I’m working hard and I’m comfortable.

“It’s not as if I need to pot this black because the mortgage hasn’t been paid or whatever.

“Now I can play my game and relax and enjoy it. But it’s about working hard and enjoying it.”

Higgins is the latest big-name casualty to exit the event after holder Mark Selby, Judd Trump and Ding Junhui all failed to progress, leaving five-time world champion Ronnie O’sullivan as the highest-ranked player left in the tournament.

Asked if he felt he could lift the trophy, King said: “Let’s not get too carried away. But I don’t fear anybody.

“I’ve played Ronnie loads of times and I’ve done well against him.

“Nowadays the strength in depth in our game is such that anyone in the top 60 in the world can, on their day, beat one of the top players.”

In the other afternoon match, Stephen Maguire beat fellow Scot Graeme Dott 6-2.