Ali Carter has taken his fairy-tale run at the Masters all the way to the final with a 6-3 win over Shaun Murphy in the semis at Alexandra Palace.
The Captain is only in the tournament thanks to Ronnie O’Sullivan choosing not to play in the event, and pinching his spot alongside the rest of the world’s top 16.
He has not let that hold him back, though, beating a hat-trick of former champions in the shape of Mark Selby, John Higgins and now Murphy en route to the final.
It was not exactly a classic against the Magician, with a number of scrappy frames, but Carter showed his grit and determination when things were not flowing smoothly and ultimately made fewer mistakes.
It had not been a fluent display of break-building from the two-time World Championship finalist, but he got over the line in some style, knocking in a 97 to win the match.
Carter started off brilliantly in his first ever crack at a Masters semi-final, winning the opening two frames of the contest with breaks of 55 and 91.
The Captain had settled well, but Murphy showed he was absolutely at the races as well by rolling in a 105 clearance to get his first frame on the board in the third.
The Essex native was calm and in control, though has he took the final frame going into the mid-session interval, piling the pressure on the Magician.
Murphy rarely wilts under pressure, though, and returned from the adjournment with a break of 110, his third century of the tournament and second of the match.
However, he just couldn’t rein in Carter, with Murphy misjudging a shot in the sixth, hitting the wrong red when amongst the balls, with Ali stepping in to make 70 and go 4-2 ahead.
The Captain had a golden chance in the seventh to go one from victory, missing a straightforward brown en route to clearing up for the frame. He was six points behind at the time and Murphy stepped in to accept the gift gratefully.
Both men began to struggle quite badly in the eighth, missing chances in a frame that lasted well over half an hour.
Carter got himself a 30 point lead but Murphy tied him up in a snooker on the final red, which the Captain managed to fluke, quite outrageously and then return the favour with a snooker of his own. That proved too much for the Magician to fins his way out of and Carter was 5-3 ahead in the race to six.
Murphy appeared to have lost his rhythm entirely after that punishing frame, missing a simple red and letting Carter in early in the ninth, which he took full advantage of with a break of 97 to win the match.
MORE: Stuart Bingham at a loss to explain run to Masters semi-final after dramatic comeback
MORE: The Masters: Ali Carter responds to cheating accusations after John Higgins victory
