Masters: Mark Selby loses to Mark Williams in first round at Alexandra Palace

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World number one Mark Selby suffered a first-round defeat by Mark Williams in the opening match of the Masters at London's Alexandra Palace.

Welshman Williams, 42, won a tense deciding frame to clinch a 6-5 victory and reach the quarter-finals.

"I'm over the moon," Williams said. "I'm playing a hell of a lot better than I've done for many years."

In the day's other first-round match, Northern Ireland's Mark Allen beat Belgium's Luca Brecel 6-3.

• Full match schedule and BBC television details

Williams, who won the Masters in 1998 and 2003, opened with a a break of 135 and moved 2-0 up with an 89 before Selby began to dominate.

The reigning world champion, who admitted the in-form Williams was one of the players he had hoped to avoid in the first round, won three frames in a row en route to a 5-3 lead.

But Williams was not to be denied, winning three frames in succession to avenge his 6-5 loss to Selby at the same stage of this tournament in 2017.

"I thought it was a good match, both of us played quite well," added Williams, who will play Barry Hawkins or Kyren Wilson in the last eight.

"If I can keep playing like that then someone's going to have to play well [to beat me]."

Selby, 34, was also eliminated early in the UK Championship last month, losing to Scott Donaldson in the second round.

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In the evening contest, Allen was impressive as he saw off 22-year-old Masters debutant Brecel, compiling breaks of 86, 135 and 72 as the pair shared the first six frames.

Allen, 31, won a scrappy seventh to move 4-3 ahead, before shutting Brecel out in the next two frames and wrapping up the win with a 120 break.

Allen now plays the winner of Tuesday's match between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Marco Fu.

The Masters runs until Sunday, 21 January and the winner will collect £200,000.

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