Stephen Hendry completed a crushing 13-4 victory over John Higgins on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals of the Betfred.com World Championship.
The seven-time champion's long-awaited first Crucible encounter with his fellow Scot, a four-time winner in Sheffield, failed to live up the expectation that it would go close.
Higgins played perhaps the worst session of his career on Friday night to gift it 7-1 to Hendry, who had already been 5-3 in front after a tighter morning eight frames.
And armed with a 12-4 lead, there was no way Hendry was going to lose when play resumed.
Higgins looked nicely set to take the opening frame of the afternoon but missed a pink, and a break of 64 from Hendry left last year's champion needing a snooker.
Surprisingly, perhaps, Higgins played on, with professional pride kicking in. But he could not find the snooker he required, and when he left a red on, Higgins offered his hand in defeat.
Hendry next plays Stephen Maguire in the last eight after his fellow Scot held off Joe Perry to win 13-7 in the morning session.
Afterwards Hendry, who at the age of 43 has drifted to 23rd in the world rankings, protests his age should not be a factor in how he progresses during the rest of the tournament.
He had it easy against Stuart Bingham in round one, when he fired a 147 to earn a £50,000 bonus, and looked the younger man as he breezed past 36-year-old Higgins.
Hendry, who last won the world title in 1999, said: "I don't feel like the oldest player in the tournament. I don't feel like that at all.
"Perhaps it's because I haven't been playing so much competitive snooker, I keep getting beaten in the first round. Perhaps I'm the freshest player out there."
Maguire suggested there were players coming to the Crucible in danger of "burnout" from a busy season.
Hendry is confident that does not apply to him, and there is nobody standing in his way who could claim to be more comfortable or possess greater experience at the Crucible.
"I love it, there's no better place to play snooker," Hendry said. "To make a maximum here this week and to be in the quarters, one match away from again playing in the one-table situation, is amazing.
"I'm fortunate in the fact John's probably not played as bad in his life at the Crucible as he did last night.
"If someone said I would beat John Higgins 13-4 I would say they were nuts."
Maguire had been 11-5 overnight, but dropped the opening two frames when they resumed, giving Perry some hope that he would be able to force a close finish.
That was soon extinguished though, and 31-year-old Maguire reaches the last-eight stage for the fourth time in his career.
And Hendry said of his next opponent: "He's always very tough to beat. Anything can happen from hereon in, but I'm just delighted to be in the quarter-finals."
Meanwhile Higgins said: "It broke my heart to come back here today 12-4 down.
"This can place can do that to you. I have seen it, it can give you your best moments but also your worst nightmares. I have no idea what happened last night.
"From 5-3 I thought it would be close, but I ended up dragging him down to my level. I can't describe how bad it was, really, really bad."
Maguire is excited about playing Hendry but was amazed to see Higgins crumble so badly.
"It will be quite special to play Stephen at the Crucible for the first time," Maguire said.
"I grew up watching Stephen win all the titles, and it will be great to play him in the quarter-finals.
"I could see he (Higgins) wanted the ground to open up and swallow him, and we've all had that feeling."
Wales' Ryan Day, the 32-year-old who lost World Championship quarter-finals in 2008 and 2009, will have a third bite at a last-eight tussle.
Day knocked out Ding Junhui in the first round and on Saturday night completed a 13-7 win over China's Cao Yupeng.
He awaits the winner of the match between fellow Welshman Matthew Stevens and England's Barry Hawkins, having finished off Cao with his second century of the evening.
Day, who has fallen from sixth to 35th in the rankings, won all four frames on Saturday night and said: "I've only got to the quarters here before. It's a big match for me next and if I can win it's new territory.
"I know if I win the next match it all changes and becomes a one-table set-up, and everyone wants to play on that stage.
"If I can play like I did in the last four frames consistently, I know I can beat anybody."
Meanwhile three-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan developed a 5-3 lead over Mark Williams, winner in 2000 and 2003, in their second-round clash.
O'Sullivan doubled in the green and added brown and blue in the final frame to leave Williams requiring snookers he had no interest in chasing.
The Chigwell 36-year-old was worth his two-frame cushion, after firing breaks of 57, 53, 95, 56 and 86 to just one half-century, a 64, from Ebbw Vale man Williams.
Ali Carter moved into a 5-3 lead against Judd Trump in their second-round encounter.
Trump reported healthy to face his fellow Englishman having struggled with food poisoning in his opening win over Dominic Dale earlier in the week but didn't make the best of starts.
Last year's runner-up lost the opening two frames of the match before getting off the mark and breaks of 70 and 62 helped him go 3-2 in front.
However, Carter polished off the final three frames of the session to open up a slender advantage.
The pair resume on Sunday afternoon and play to a finish on Monday.
