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Mark Allen soars past Mark Selby to seal Masters semi-final spot

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Allen beat Selby in the battle of the Marks (PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

Mark Allen advanced to the Masters semi-finals for the second straight year after a 6-2 win over Mark Selby at Alexandra Palace on Thursday.

The Pistol set up a last-four clash with Shaun Murphy, who beat Neil Robertson by the same scoreline earlier in the day.

Allen overcame Selby in the Masters quarter-finals for a second year in succession, having ousted the Jester in a deciding frame 12 months ago.

All three of their previous encounters at snooker’s most prestigious invitational event had gone to the wire, but the world number four bucked the trend with what was a comfortable win.

The two players came flying out of the blocks. Allen’s breaks of 81 and 104 sandwiched a contribution of 88 from Selby.

However, the contest appeared to hinge on a marathon fourth frame, which lasted 58 minutes.

A run of 47 put the Jester in command at 71-8 to the good, only for the Pistol to recover and eventually pinch the frame on the black following a 32 clearance.

Another scrappy frame ensued in the fifth, with 2018 winner Allen prevailing on the brown, before eventually holding his nerve on a tactical battle on the black in a 45-minute-long sixth, knocking it in to move 5-1 to the good.

Three-time champion Selby rallied with 80 to keep his faint hopes of reaching a first semi-final since 2014 alive.

He then reduced a 60-0 deficit to 60-35 in the eighth frame, but a loose safety saw him stick a red over the left corner, and Allen was home and dry.

The reigning Riyadh Season Championship winner will play Murphy in what will be his fifth semi-final appearance in six events.

“It started out like a really good game,” he told BBC Sport. “The first three frames, there were three breaks, then it just got a little scrappy. Sometimes, the balls dictate and we both missed a few shots.

“I managed to pinch [a couple of frames] on the black, they were two frames I really had no right to win.

“I can definitely say that’s probably the most luck I’ve had in a match in a long, long time; it was ridiculous at times.

“It was just meant to be for me today. I felt like I played better than Mark, but luck definitely helped me.

It’s probably the first time I’ve played Mark where I’ve felt like I was getting the better of the safety side. I still felt like I was dictating play, I just didn’t score the way I have been.

“Any win against Mark is a great win, but it’s nice to do it that way. Normally, I have to score really well and win frames in one visit, whereas it was a very different game tonight and I still won it.

“I feel good in my game; it’s not very often I say that. I’ve just won a lot of matches lately. I’ve showed consistent form for a while now, and you have to get confidence from that.”

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Masters Snooker 2025 | Day Five Results

Thursday January 16

Quarter-Finals

Neil Robertson 2-6 Shaun Murphy
Mark Allen 6-2 Mark Selby