Mark Selby dominates Ali Carter to cruise into 12th Masters quarter-final

Mark Selby laid down an ominous marker with a 6-1 demolition of Ali Carter in the first round of the 2025 Masters at Alexandra Palace. The three-time champion made breaks of 62, 108, 93 and 126 to cruise into the quarter-finals for a 12th time at this event. He will play either Mark Allen or Si Jiahui next. Watch and stream the Masters live on Eurosport and discovery+.

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Mark Selby completed a dominant 6-1 win over Ali Carter to begin his bid for a fourth Masters crown in style at Alexandra Palace.

The 2008, 2010 and 2013 champion laid down an ominous marker to the rest of the field with a sublime mixture of big breaks and typically tenacious matchplay against last year’s losing finalist.

Carter let the second frame slip through his grasp to fall 2-0 behind and never seemed to recover, while Selby went from strength to strength.

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Breaks of 108 and 93 then made it 4-0 at the mid-session interval, and although Carter clawed one back after the break, the outcome was never in doubt.

Selby is now into his 12th Masters quarter-final and will face either Mark Allen or Si Jiahui next.

"I played alright," Selby told Eurosport. "First frame I twitched a yellow and Ali should have probably won that. And he should have definitely won the second frame and I pinched that, and then you're settled.

"Probably should have been 2-0 down but I was 2-0 up, and then I kicked on from there and felt like I played some decent stuff.

"For me, this is the second one behind the worlds. I put this in front of the UK [Championship] because it's a one-table set-up, every match is capable of being a final, especially with the crowd we play with now."

The opener went the way of the man from Leicester after a break of 62, but Carter looked poised to level immediately until he faltered on the final brown in frame two and lost the subsequent safety battle, with Selby pinching it to double his lead.

That set the tone as Selby asserted his dominance. A century and a run of 93 made it 4-0 at the mid-session interval and gave Carter a mountain to climb against one of the sport’s toughest competitors.

The Captain got his first frame on the board after the break, but normal service was resumed in the next, Selby pouncing on a missed long red to produce a sublime 126 clearance.

And he sealed the victory by taking advantage of another wasted Carter chance, clearing for his fifth 50-plus break of a dominant performance.

Watch and stream The Masters live on Eurosport and discovery+

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