Mark Allen showed his tactical intelligence as he won a succession of close frames to beat Mark Selby 6-2 and reach the semi-finals of the Johnstone's Paint Masters.
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In recent seasons Allen has developed into one of the best all-round competitors in the sport and he showed that at Alexandra Palace on Thursday evening as he outfoxed Selby to reach the last four of this event for the fifth time. The Northern Irishman will face Shaun Murphy on Saturday afternoon and is just two wins away from becoming a multiple Masters champion having first lifted the trophy in 2018.
The pair had met three times before in this event and all three had gone to a deciding frame, Selby winning the first two before Allen gained revenge last year. This time, the scoreline was emphatic in Allen's favour, though Selby failed to take opportunities to make it much closer and the three-time winner has not reached the semi-finals since 2014.
"Mark is probably the best player of all time when it comes to safety," said Allen, winner of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship four weeks ago. "But that's probably the first time I feel I have dictated play against him. Especially on the safety side - I felt I was better than him, aside from the few bits of luck I had. That's a real positive for me to take forward."
World number four Allen took a 2-1 lead with breaks of 81 and 104, sandwiching an 88 from Selby in frame two. In frame four, which lasted 58 minutes, Selby led 71-8 but couldn't finish the job and Allen battled back, eventually snatching it by clearing from the last red. It was a similar story in the fifth as Allen out-maneuvered his opponent in an exchange on the last red and took advantage for 4-1.
Frame six ended with 11 minutes of cat-and-mouse on the final black, resolved when Selby went for a cross double and was unlucky to leave the black over a top corner for Allen to extend his lead. Selby pulled one back with a run of 80, but Allen made a 59 in frame eight and eventually got over the line by converting a thin snick on the final yellow to a centre pocket and adding the points he needed.
"The fourth frame was the big one because I had no right to win it, the way the balls were sitting," added 38-year-old Allen. "I am much happier with my game than I was a few months ago. There is still room for improvement and I slipped into a few bad habits tonight. But in general there is a lot of good stuff and I'm feeling upbeat. I am buzzing for the semi-final, the atmosphere gets better every round."
Selby said: "If I had won the fourth frame for 2-2 I was right in the match. After that I felt I was chasing the game. Mark won all of the close frames. A few times I thought he had stuck balls over the hole but they finished safe. But he took his chances better than I did."
Allen: I'm Buzzing For Semis