Graeme Dott had to dig deep to keep alive his dream of landing the BGC Masters title last night.

The Scot was 3-2 down against England's Ali Carter in a first-round clash at Alexandra Palace, with the prize for the winner being a showdown with John Higgins tonight.

"I'm sure it will be a great match if we both play well," said Dott, after his 6-3 success against Carter. "John's a class player so I know I'm going to have to be on the top of my game, but I'm really looking forward to the challenge.

"I played well against Ali; that win has given me lots of confidence.

"But it's still very early in the tournament and I know I'm going to have to play a lot better to test John."

Dott, the 2006 world champion, had breaks of 61, 71 and 56 to defeat Carter, winning four frames on the spin to complete a stylish victory.

However, at 3-2 down the 34-year-old admitted he had not managed to move out of first gear as both players made mistakes.

"It was a bit scrappy, but I made a few nice breaks and felt really settled after the interval," said Dott.

Mark Selby, the two-time Masters champion, survived a fightback from Stephen Lee as he secured a 6-4 win.

The world No.1 now faces Shaun Murphy, the former world and UK champion, tomorrow night in the last of the quarter-finals.

ICE HOCKEY: Braehead Clan's six-game winning run ended in a 4-3 defeat to Fife Flyers last night.

Drew Bannister, Jordan Krestanovich and Jade Galbraith were on target but it was not enough to prevent a loss which hits Clan's chances of making the top five of the Elite League.