Mark Allen admitted he got the rub of the green but was nonetheless delighted to overcome Mark Selby and reach the Semi-Finals of the Masters at the Alexandra Palace.
The Antrim man will take on Shaun Murphy in the last-four after defeating Selby 6-2 in the Quarter-Finals as he aims to replicate his success from 2018 at the event.
Although he was the better player in the match overall, Allen did concede he had lady luck on his side as Selby missed a straightforward green in the third frame to allow the ‘Pistol’ to clear up with a century break and then Selby botched a simple red in the fifth for Allen to win again.
“I can definitely say that’s probably the most luck I’ve had in a long, long time. That was ridiculous at times,” said the World No.4
“It was just meant to be for me today. I made a few mistakes. I felt like I played better than Mark but the luck definitely helped me.
“Outside of the shoot-out, I think it’s six Semi-Finals in a row, so it’s consistent form, but I want to win consistently. I don’t want to just keep getting to Semi-Finals.”
The pair traded 80-plus breaks in the opening two frames for a 1-1 start before Selby’s mistake allowed Allen to pull ahead in the third and the Antrim man would win a colossal tactical back-and-forth in a 58-minute fourth frame, edging it 74-71 to claim a 3-1 lead at the mid-session break.
That seemed to rock Selby, who managed to get away with a loose break in the fifth frame but would be punished when he missed a simple red later in the same frame and Allen capitalised to move 4-1 ahead.
The former Masters champion would edge another thriller to move one away from victory but Selby kept his hopes alive when he finally snapped Allen’s momentum in the seventh frame, a solid break of 35 earning him the win.
However, it was to be Allen’s day and when he cut a fine yellow into the top left corner in the eighth frame it sealed the win to set up a Semi-Final with Murphy on Saturday afternoon.