This morning, the second day of the Snooker Masters competition concluded. Upon waking up, all three legends from the '75 era were eliminated! Selby defeated Carter 6-1, setting two major records. Ding Junhui played a full 11 rounds, defeating Mark Williams 6-5 in a thrilling match, breaking through to the second round for the first time in the last four Masters tournaments. He may face world number one Trump in the quarter-finals.
This Masters tournament has not been kind to the '75 trio. First, defending champion O'Sullivan withdrew on a whim. Then Higgins, who was leading 5-1 on the first day, suddenly lost his touch and was defeated by Robertson with a streak of five wins, ending his run at 5-6. Mark Williams had bad luck, facing Ding Junhui in the first round, against whom he had previously lost more than won. The two were evenly matched until the decisive round, where Ding Junhui secured victory with a single shot of 90 points, eliminating all three legends from the '75 era.
Selby, a four-time world champion, has returned to peak form this season. He defeated Higgins in the final of the British Open to claim his 23rd ranking title, and in the previous event, he emerged from Group 4 of the Champions League to enter the winners' group. In the Masters, Selby faced his former opponent Carter and played brilliantly, scoring two century breaks and three 50+ shots, easily advancing with a score of 6-1 and setting two records: one being a five-match winning streak against the Captain, and the other being the largest margin of victory in the first round.
Ding Junhui's opponent in the quarter-finals will be the winner between Trump and Hawkins. Trump is currently ranked number one in the world, having won five titles last season and another three titles and two runner-up finishes this season. He has won 20 out of 33 matches against Hawkins, and recently has consecutively KO'd him five times, holding an absolute advantage. Unexpectedly, Ding Junhui will face Trump, setting the stage for an internal battle between two tigers. Stay tuned.