John Higgins benefited from an outrageous fluke as he came from 5-3 down to beat world champion Zhao Xintong 6-5 and reach the semi-finals of the Masters, while Antrim’s Mark Allen lost to Judd Trump.

Higgins made a horrible mess of a plant, only for one of the reds to fly into the opposite pocket and the cue ball to somehow land on the black, en route to squaring the match at 5-5.

The 50-year-old Scot then took a tight decider, clearing the table from the final red to move one step closer to a third Masters title.

“I was so lucky,” he smiled on BBC Two.

“It’s tough out there. I’m delighted and so proud I’m still doing it.”

Remarkably it was the first match of the tournament not to finish 6-2, which was the scoreline in all eight first-round matches.

Higgins will next face world number one Trump after he battled past Allen for another 6-2 victory in Thursday’s late session.

After Allen came from behind to take the opening frame, Trump – who did not claim any silverware in 2025 – dug in to edge the next two before Allen made a break of 76 to level things up at the mid-session interval.

The momentum, though, turned in the fifth frame when Allen looked set on 68 only to miss a red, which let Trump, a two-time Masters champion, back in for steal with a well-crafted half-century.

Further breaks of 70 and then 49 put Trump on the brink, before a run of 68 left Allen to bravely fight on needing snookers, before Trump eventually closed out a hard-earned victory on the colours.