Masters Snooker 2020 Day Five preview and order of play: Semi-Final spots up for grabs at Ally Pally
John Higgins in action (Photo by John Walton/PA Wire/PA Images)
The opening two Quarter-Finals take centre stage at the 2020 Masters on Thursday with two former champions and two giant-killers battling it out.
The favourites in six of the eight First Round ties crashed out at Alexandra Palace, paving the way for a potential new name on this prestigious trophy come Sunday evening.
The opening Quarter-Final sees former Masters champion Shaun Murphy take on former runner-up Joe Perry.
Murphy was responsible for dethroning defending champion Judd Trump 6-3 in Round One and now takes on Perry in a televised tournament for the first time in more than three years.
Murphy completed his career Triple Crown at Ally Pally five years ago having fallen short in the 2012 final.
The number nine seed ended a two-year wait for a ranking title at the China Championship earlier this season but suffered a shock First Round exit at the hands of Eden Sharav in the UK Championship last month.
Perry marked his return to The Masters for the first time since finishing runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan 2017 with an impressive opening day scalp of UK Champion Ding Junhui.
The Cambridge cueist is making his tenth appearance in this elite major and is aiming to reach the Semi-Finals for only the second time.
The evening’s encounter sees two-time Masters Champion John Higgins up against multiple ranking event winner Ali Carter.
Higgins is looking to claim this crown in a third different decade, having triumphed in 1999 and 2006, while also finishing runner-up in 1995 and 2005.
The number four seed, who has lost in the last three consecutive World Championship finals, has two ranking Semi-Finals to his name this season as well as a runner-up spot at the Six Reds Championship in Thailand.
Carter took full advantage of O’Sullivan’s withdrawal from the tournament by stepping in to fill his rival’s place as he dumped out three-time champion Mark Selby 6-4 in Round One.
Carter, who made his Masters debut 20 years ago, is looking to progress to the Last Four stage for the first time in 12 attempts.
The action gets underway from 1pm GMT, with First Round matches to be contested over the best of 11 frames.
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Dafabet Masters 2020 Match Schedule
Thursday January 16
Quarter-Finals
1pm
Shaun Murphy v Joe Perry
7pm
John Higgins v Ali Carter