Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen is hoping to beat Ryan Day and have a great night to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Masters at Wembley.

Allen, from Antrim, ranked 16 in the world, would love to sample a first tournament victory on the professional scene, and where better than Wembley to start.

Yesterday he overcame Judd Trump 6-4 in a battle of the young guns, and now the 22-year-old Ulsterman has his sights set on overcoming Welshman Day tonight to reach the quarter-finals. Allen though believes he will have to improve.

He said: "Going into the interval 3-1 up, when I probably couldn't have played any worse, settled me down.

"Terry Griffiths was in my dressing room at the interval and he sat down and said to me 'do you think you're feeling bad?' I said yes.

“He said 'how bad do you think Judd's feeling, he's 3-1 down'. That gave me the confidence to go on.

“I've played Ryan a few times, he's got a better record but I'm looking forward to it, though I know I'll need to improve.”

Last night defending Masters champion Mark Selby beat Ricky Walden 6-5 to reach the last eight.

Meanwhile publicist Max Clifford has claimed he could rescue snooker from what Ronnie O'Sullivan claims is a "downward spiral".

Clifford says he is willing to listen to offers from the sport's governing body to launch a programme to overhaul the game's image in the wake of a stunning attack from its most recognisable face, O'Sullivan.