Mark Allen sees off Mark Selby to set up last-four clash with Shaun Murphy at the Masters

Mark Allen ground out a 6-2 victory over three-time winner Mark Selby to set up a Masters semi-final date with Shaun Murphy.

The match was tied at 1-1 after Selby replied to Allen's break of 81 with an 88, before the Northern Irishman kickstarted a run of four consecutive frames with a 104 in the third.

Although Selby hit back with a break of 80 to take the seventh frame, Allen responded to claim the next 74-35, helped by a run of 59, to secure his place in the quarter-finals.

The other quarter-finals being played on Friday will see Judd Trump face Ding Junhui and Kyren Wilson take on Luca Brecel.

Murphy fell just short of a 147 break as he defeated Neil Robertson to move into the Masters semi-finals at Alexandra Palace.

In the eighth frame that saw him complete a 6-2 victory, Murphy, on course for a maximum, misjudged his shot as he potted the black to take his break to 120 and snookered himself behind the blue.

And the 42-year-old, who won the title in 2015 by beating Robertson in the final, said on BBC Two: "I couldn't breathe!

"One of my targets for the season was to make a max in one of the Triple Crown events, and I was like 'come on, this is a good chance, this is a good chance’. Anywhere but there, goodness me.

"It was exciting. The most important thing today was it would have been a great present – it’s my mum’s birthday today."

Smiling as he put his head in his hands, he added: "What an idiot! Anywhere but there!

"I’d love to have another go at that one. I wouldn’t mind but I did that before once, years ago in the Welsh Open against Mark Williams. I did the same thing, exactly the same shot. You’d think I would have learned. I just couldn’t breathe. I was very nervous."

Murphy also described his performance as "somewhere