The thee-time champion Mark Selby breezily got past Robert Milkins 6-1 on Wednesday to set up a quarterfinal clash with Mark Allen at the Snooker Masters.

Selby, who last won the event in 2013, made five breaks over 50 including a century in the first round match. He led 4-0 before the interval and sealed the victory 6-1 at last.

The 40-year-old Selby will fight for a semifinal berth against Allen, who edged veteran John Higgins 6-5 earlier on Wednesday.

Allen won four frames in a row to lead 5-3, but was dragged to the decider as Higgins chased two frames back.

A break of 86 in the last frame enabled Allen to win the opening round match at the Masters for the first time since he clinched the title in 2018.

While for the 48-year-old Higgins, it was his 15th loss in the first round at the Masters as he made his 30th consecutive appearance in the prestigious invitational event this year.

The world No.1 Ronnie O'Sullivan will unveil the quarterfinal stage with a fight against Barry Hawkins, followed by Shaun Murphy against Jack Lisowski on Thursday.

On Monday, O'Sullivan defeated Ding Junhui 6-3 in the first round despite the Chinese ace making a sensational maximum break of 147.

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