Snooker: Allen, Carter set up Masters semifinal clash

Mark Allen came back from 4-1 down to beat Mark Selby 6-5 while hitting a 147 break in the quarterfinals of the Masters past Friday midnight, setting up a semifinal clash against Ali Carter who earlier ended Judd Trump's title defense with a 6-5 victory.

The 2018 champion did not shake off a sluggish start of 2-0 until the third frame, as he knocked in the black to complete the maximum which earned him a standing ovation at Alexandra Palace. After Selby led by 4-1, Allen won four frames in a row to establish a lead and eventually rally to victory, despite Selby pulling the tie back to 5-5.

"I don't know where the maximum came from because it was a really poor performance tonight. I just hung in there and hung in there. I started to feel a bit better at 4-3 and 4-4. As Mark said yesterday, we should have just started at midnight and played one frame because it was always going to go five-all," said Allen after the match.

"To do it here at the Masters was very special. It wasn't the best cue ball in the world but it made it more exciting for the crowd and a bit more nerve-racking for me, but I'm glad I've finally done it for the fans," he commented on the 147, as he became the fourth player to hit a 147 in Masters history after Kirk Stevens, Marco Fu and Ding Junhui.

Earlier in the day, world No.2 Judd was leading 5-4 while Carter was facing an exit in the 10th frame, before the defending champion over-cut the match-ball red, which allowed Carter to produce a 43 clearance and take it to the decider and enter his second Masters semifinal.

The other semifinal will take place between Ronnie O'Sullivan, who edged out Barry Hawkins a day ago to stay on course for his eighth title, and Shaun Murphy, who beat Jack Lisowski.

(With input from agencies)