Ryan Day downed two-time champion John Higgins in the first round of the Dafabet Masters at Alexandra Palace before setting his sights on a clash with Ronnie O’Sullivan.

‘The Rocket’ holds the record with his seven Masters successes and will be getting his bid for title number eight underway on Monday afternoon against Stuart Bingham.

Day had to recover from a 3-1 interval deficit to overcome Higgins 6-5 and the Welshman admits that, having ousted one of the game’s greats, he’d quite like to face O’Sullivan in front of a packed house at Ally Pally in the last eight.

“It would be massive to play Ronnie in a big tournament, a big arena. To pit myself against the greatest player would be something I’d look forward to. But he will have a tough game first against Stuart,” said Day.

World number 13 Day, who won a trio of titles last season at the Riga Masters, Gibraltar Open and Romanian Masters, made breaks of 52, 111 and 83 to move from his mid-session deficit into a 4-3 advantage.

Higgins, making his 25th consecutive Masters appearance, wasn’t at his best but the Scot typically battled to force a deciding frame.

There he would only break off, with Day rattling in a long red and forging a 128 total clearance to wrap up victory in pleasing style.

“It was great to finish the match with one hit like that in the deciding frame, and from 3-1 behind, I’m delighted to get the win,” he added.

“After the interval I had a burst of frames to get myself in front which was pretty good. It went a bit messy from there to 5-5 but it was a good way to finish.

“I have been playing with a sore arm and 20 minutes before the game it was painful. But once the match started the adrenaline took over. I think it’s just ‘snooker shoulder’ – a bit of wear and tear.”

Day is 23.00 to win the Dafabet Masters title in London on Sunday evening.

O’Sullivan meanwhile is favourite at 1.25 to see off Bingham, while the former world champion is trading at 3.75 to cause another first round upset, with defending champion Mark Allen also having fallen to Luca Brecel 6-5 on Sunday.