SHEFFIELD (Agencies) - Scotland's John Higgins and England's Ronnie O'Sullivan served up an exquisite feast of high-octane action in the opening session of their quarter-final match at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. The pair were tied at 4-4, following a breathless period of rapid break-building brilliance and fluctuating fortunes and this contest could develop into a Crucible classic when it concludes on Wednesday. If anything, Higgins might be disappointed he didn't establish an advantage by the climax of the first eight frames. He led 2-0 and 4-2 and missed a golden opportunity to snooker his rival in the third frame, which might have handed him some genuine momentum. Yet, over the piece, it would be difficult to argue that both these former global champions weren't near the top of their games and they performed with such quickfire intensity that the session was over inside two hours, which added up to a frame every 15 minutes. Higgins took the first two 94-0 and 66-0 and barely allowed O'Sullivan the sniff of a chance. Yet the ebullient Essex man responded by seizing the initiative and levelling matters at the mid-session interval. There was an element of deja vu when the action resumed, with the Wizard of Wishaw regaining the ascendancy, by capitalising on a rare error from his opponent to sneak the fifth frame 65-64, as the prelude to amassing an immaculate clearance of 121 in the next. Undaunted, O'Sullivan potted a sublime long red, as the catalyst for him to reduce the deficit to 4-3, and finished off the proceedings with a break of 105, which was amassed so swiftly that the referee was in danger of slipping a disc in his desperation to replace the balls. It was sublime fare and a timely reminder of the powers which have brought this pair a tally of six world titles between them. Indeed, few people would bet against the eventual victor going on to lift his fourth crown on May 2. Meanwhile, China's Ding Junhui staged a dramatic comeback from 9-12 down to defeat England's Stuart Bingham 13-12 and reach the World Snooker Championship quarter-finals for the first time. The Chinese star has won the UK Championship and Masters events in his career but has struggled in Sheffield, despite it being his adopted home city. Ding will next face England's Mark Selby who defeated seven-time champion Stephen Hendry. Breaks of 92 and 114 had seen Ding cut the deficit to 12-11 in the evening session and he opened the next with a 58. Bingham had a chance to clear up, but was unlucky to snooker himself on 34, and eventually lost it on the colours. In the decider, Bingham made 30, then Ding responded with 55. It came down to a safety battle on the last two reds, and, trapped in a snooker behind the pink.