Day 6 at the 2024 Masters at Alexandra Palace saw the conclusion of the quarter final stage and brought huge drama and excitement, as well as a second 147. It also saw the defending champion, Judd Trump, exit the tournament.
Here are the reports by WST:
Ali Carter earned his place in the semi-finals of the MrQ Masters, after sending defending champion Judd Trump packing by winning a thrilling encounter 6-5.
Carter had looked destined for the exit himself when Trump had a chance at match ball at 5-4 ahead, he missed it and the Captain overhauled his opponent to score the sensational win.
Victory sets up a semi-final showdown with either three-time Masters winner Mark Selby or 2018 winner Mark Allen, who contest this evening’s last quarter-final.
World number ten Carter is gunning for his maiden Triple Crown title this weekend. He is a two-time Crucible finalist and made the title match here at the Masters in 2020, having been initially handed a place in the event due to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s withdrawal. In the end he was pipped by fellow Essex cueman Stuart Bingham 10-8.
Defeat ends Trump’s reign as champion. The Ace in the Pack lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy at Alexandra Palace 12 months ago after defeating Mark Williams 10-8 in the final. There will be no repeat in North London this year.Carter took an early 2-1 lead as breaks of 85 and 103 sandwiched a run of 80 from Trump. Frame four came down to the colours and Trump converted an excellent long pot on the yellow, setting up a clearance for 2-2.
After the interval, Carter regained the lead with a break of 71. In frame six, Trump trailed by 21 points when he missed a tricky pot on the final brown and his opponent capitalised for 4-2. Trump replied with a run of 129, then enjoyed a huge slice of fortune in frame eight as his attempted long pot on the final green missed its target, but he left Carter in a tough snooker behind the brown. That proved crucial as Trump later cleared for 4-4.
Carter attempted a risky red to a top corner when he trailed 8-30 and Trump punished him with 48 to go ahead for the first time. In frame ten, Trump was on the verge of victory, leading by 35 points when he over-cut an awkward pot on the penultimate red to a top corner. Carter fashioned an excellent clearance and pumped his fist as the scoreboard ticked to 5-5.
The final frame saw Carter crack in a red from long range and make a nerveless 64 to wrap up a famous victory
“It was a massive clearance in terms of where I was at in the match. To force a decider was really special,” said 44-year-old Carter.
“I I felt like I let my composure slip to go 5-4 behind. I couldn’t get my head together after that silly thing that happened with the green ball. To make the clearance (to go 5-5) was absolutely brilliant.
“To play Judd on a stage like that is a special win for me. I just want to get home and try to unwind, chill out then come back and do it all again tomorrow.
“Enjoying it and savouring the moment is all part of it. You don’t find yourself in the semi-final of a Triple Crown event every day. This is arguably over the World Championship for me with how big of an event it is. To be here come Saturday is really exciting. Hopefully I can convert and be here on Sunday.”
Trump said: “He played well throughout the game. I struggled. He should never have had that chance. It was terrible from me. I had two perfect chances to win the game and I am dissapointed, but I didn’t play well so I didn’t deserve to win.”
Actually Trump had the run of the balls for most of the match and it all culminated with this outrageous fluke. As himself admitted, Ali lost his composure after that.
Mark Allen enjoyed a memorable evening at Alexandra Palace, making a 147 and winning a nerve-jangling decider to beat Mark Selby 6-5 in the quarter-finals of the MrQ Masters.
Allen pulled off a number of magnificent shots to keep his hopes of the perfect run alive in the third frame, including a difficult pink and black. After depositing the final ball the Alexandra Palace crowd were in raptures, with 2018 Masters champion Allen now trailing Selby 2-1.
However, that did little to turn the tide of the match and three-time Masters winner Selby took two on the bounce, making a break of 82 in the process, to move 4-1 ahead.
Allen dug deep and breaks of 56 and 103 saw him claw his way back to 4-3 down. There was then a marathon 45-minute eighth which eventually went the way of the Northern Irishman, who restored parity at 4-4. He then made it five on the bounce, before Selby crafted 55 on the way to forcing a decider at 5-5.
It was 2022 UK Champion Allen who made the first significant contribution of the final frame, a run of 51, before missing a straightforward red and gifting Selby a path back. He edged his way into the frame, but missed a difficult final red to the top right. After a safety exchange, Allen stepped in and cleared with 23 to set up a semi-final showdown with Ali Carter.
This week’s run represents Allen’s first success at Alexandra Palace since beating Kyren Wilson in the 2018 title match. The Antrim cueman suffered first round defeats in all of his last five Masters appearances, until this week’s 6-5 win over John Higgins in the opening round. He’s now just two wins away from a third piece of Triple Crown silverware.
“It was a really strange game. The maximum probably didn’t deserve to be in that match, it was quite scrappy at times and there were a lot of balls missed. Pressure moments and turning points, but it was great for the crowd to experience that. The buzz that I got was something that I’ll never forget. There were hairs standing on the back of my neck.”
Mark Allen
Number Four Seed
Allen added: “I know it is going to sound so silly, but I genuinely wasn’t feeling the pressure in the last. I completely took my eye off the red on 51. That was unforgivable. It was one of two shots I played that match that I’d love to have back because I wasn’t ready for it. I felt really calm and to miss that I thought I’d lose 6-5. I potted some really good balls at the end.
“This is why I play. This is why we all play. You want to play in these big matches and big events in front of big crowds. Hopefully I can go out there, enjoy it and find some form.”
Here is Mark Allen 147, shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel:
It’s quite remarkable that this is the 50th Masters and before this year there had been only three maximums at the event, all by non British players. This week we had two already, one by Ding in round one, his second at the event, and one by Allen yesterday evening. Both have been reffed by Desislava Bozhilova, lucky girl!
I also put some quotes of the winners in bold. It does confirm that what the top layers want is to play in big events, in front of big crowds in big cities. Ali goes as far as saying that the Masters is now bigger than the World Championship. The to players should be listen to, as they are the ones putting bums on seats and bringing the money in for everyone else. They didn’t get where they are by chance, they earned it, they had to work hard for it. They all started at the bottom.
Also, unsurprisingly, Shaun Murphy reacted to Ronnie’s complaints about the venue
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Murphy, who faces O’Sullivan in the first of Saturday’s semi-finals (13:00 GMT) is looking to claim his second Masters title.
And while he says he can understand some of his 48-year-old opponent’s complaints, it would be better if they were directed to snooker’s authorities rather than the press.
“It is very difficult to follow an event such as the PDC World Championship and it be absolutely crystal clear,” said Murphy.
“There obviously is evidence of a fortnight-long party here, there is no getting away from that but it is an entertainment venue.
“It is an old building, one of our historical buildings that we are proud to visit. Sometimes you have to be careful for what you wish for because we have criticised venues in the past that we no longer go to.
“I think the venue is very, very good. Could it be nicer backstage? Yes of course. Every venue could be nicer backstage. The arena in Swansea [that hosted the Snooker Shoot Out] was unbelievable, state-of-the-art and brand new but we are not suggesting taking the Masters there.
“If Ronnie has criticisms and things he would like to constructively push he should come through the correct channels and make his voice heard.”
Knowing Shaun, who is a member of the board and definitely not someone to criticise the authorities, this is – in my view – as close as it comes to an admission that, indeed, things could and should be better. He is right that, in a perfect world, those criticism should be addressed to the authorities but he also should ask himself why players go public instead. Here is an answer for him: when I was around the tour, there was a strong feeling, especially amongst the older players, that speaking to the authorities never translates into any change and is therefore a waste of time. I’m not sure that anything has changed in recent years.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 