Dark day for Master snooker champs

LONDON: Ryan Day eliminated two-time Masters champion John Higgins whilst defending titleholder Mark Allen crashed out 6-5 in an 11 frame thriller to Belgian cuesman Luca Brecel.

Day put paid to Scottish veteran Higgins’s hopes of a third Masters, which he won in 1999 and 2006, in a similarly thrilling contest that also went down to the wire before the Welshman won 6-5, crowning his victory with a stunning break of 128.

It was deja vu for Higgins — who lost to fellow veteran Welshman Mark Williams in last year’s World Championship final — who also lost to 38-year-old Day 6-5 in the Shanghai Masters last September. Brecel, ranked 14 in the world, produced the highest break of the match of 140 with 32-year-old Allen giving his all in a top class duel which saw the Northern Irishman rattle in a century break (136) of his own. Brecel, who will play the winner of the clash between Chinese ace Ding Junhui and Jack Lisowski, said his New Year’s resolution had produced immediate results even if it might come at the expense of personal relationships.