Mark Allen shrugged off a bout of food poisoning to beat Mark Williams 6-2, winning five successive frames, and book a Masters quarter-final with Judd Trump or Ding Junhui, who play on Wednesday.

Speaking to the BBC, Allen, the 2018 champion, said: “I prepare properly for these events, but I couldn’t prepare for this at all as I’ve been lying in bed all week with food poisoning. I just thought: ‘Go out there and give my best.’ I wouldn’t have had much left if it had got much closer.”

Zhao Xintong stepped up his quest to complete snooker’s triple crown after breezing into the quarter-finals. The 28-year-old, who has already won the world and UK titles, reeled off four consecutive half-centuries as he cruised to a 6-2 victory against Gary Wilson at Alexandra Palace.

He told the BBC: “I could see a lot of fans supporting me so I feel very confident and I didn’t want to lose. This is my first win at Alexandra Palace.”

Zhao is the third Chinese player in the last eight and he will play John Higgins or Barry Hawkin, who play on Tuesday night.