ALI Carter cruised into the quarter-finals of the Dafabet Masters after a stunning 6-1 victory against Barry Hawkins.
The Colchester-born potter was in clinical form against his first-round opponent, in tonight’s showdown at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Carter, who grew up in Tiptree, was given a rapturous welcome by the crowd and raced into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 95 and 50.
Hawkins pulled one back but Carter restored his two-frame cushion, going into the mid-session interval with a healthy 3-1 lead.
The 35-year-old, who received treatment for a form of lung cancer last year, months after beating testicular cancer, then extended his lead and completed a brilliant 130 break to make it 5-1.
He then wrapped up the seventh frame to tee up a quarter-final against Neil Robertson.
The Australian defeated Robert Milkins on Monday and the pair will do battle at 7pm on Thursday.
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