Snooker: Allen sends lacklustre Higgins tumbling out at Wembley

John Higgins crashed out of the Masters last night as Northern Ireland's Mark Allen beat him 6-3 at Wembley. The world No 4 won the first frame but Allen replied with three in a row before the three-times world champion took a tactical fifth.

Higgins failed to score in the next as Allen went 4-2 up but a 63 break in the seventh kept him in touch. He was well beaten in the eighth and two breaks of more than 50 in the ninth sealed victory for Allen, who faces Mark Selby in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Allen was unimpressed with his performance. "I made breaks when I needed to but my concentration was very poor," he said. "But it was an unusual John Higgins I met today – usually you have to play your socks off against him."