Two-time World Snooker Championship runner-up Ali Carter has insisted that he is ready to get his career back on track having been given the all-clear from cancer.

The 35-year-old thrashed Barry Hawkins 6-1 to progress through to the second round of The Masters yesterday in his first match since revealing the news last month.

Carter, who has also previously undergone treatment for testicular cancer as well as battling Crohn's disease for the past decade, will now face Neil Robertson in the next round at Alexandra Palace.

"The reception I got was awesome," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying. "It was as if the crowd had been through the dark days with me. To be out there in the arena reminded me that I am one of the best players in the world.

"I've been to hell and back over the past 18 months but I hope tonight I've turned the corner. It's hasn't been pleasant, but I've got through it.

"When I played at the UK Championship I still had cancer hanging over my head and I probably wasn't quite ready to come back. But now all that's behind me I can focus on getting my career back."

Carter landed the General Cup trophy with victory over Shaun Murphy last October.