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Neil Robertson and Judd Trump have both secured the Masters title on two occasions.
Neil Robertson etched his name in the tournament’s history by achieving an unprecedented eighth 6-2 victory in the first round of the Masters, propelling him into the quarter-finals at the expense of Chris Wakelin.
The sequence was initiated by Wu Yize, who triumphed over defending champion Shaun Murphy on Sunday at Alexandra Palace.
World number one Judd Trump continued the trend, dispatching Ding Junhui on Wednesday afternoon to secure the seventh consecutive 6-2 scoreline of the first round, a phenomenon with odds of 44,000-1.
Robertson then punctuated the round with a final 6-2 result in the evening, completing the clean sweep. Pre-tournament odds of all eight opening-round matches finishing that way were a staggering 220,000-1.
Remarkably, predicting both the scores and the winners of all eight matches correctly would have yielded odds of 20,000,000-1.
While no more than four first-round matches had previously ended 6-2 at any Masters tournament, Robertson’s commanding back-to-back century breaks after the interval gave him a 4-2 lead, suggesting a clean sweep was on the horizon.
Wakelin, making only his second appearance at the Masters as a late replacement for eight-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, was ultimately unable to buck the trend.
“I wasn’t even thinking about winning the match – I was thinking just win it 6-2,” Robertson quipped on BBC Four.
“I didn’t know if someone in the audience had maybe had a pound on all the matches being the same scoreline or something. It is amazing. I hope I have made someone a multi-millionaire. I have never seen anything like that before.”
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry commented: “It is phenomenal. You would normally expect at least three 6-5 scores given the nature of the tournament.
“It has been incredible. After the interval, players have really stepped up.”
Ken Doherty, who won the 1997 world title, echoed these sentiments, adding: “I have never seen anything like this in snooker.”
Robertson, of Australia, who crafted superb breaks of 116, 135 and 102, is now set to face Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals on Friday (19:00 GMT).
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Trump seals 6-2 victory against Ding
Trump’s victory over Ding, while decisive, was perhaps not entirely surprising, considering he had also defeated the same opponent by the same scoreline at the UK Championship in December.
This marked Trump’s fifth consecutive victory against China’s Ding, a former Masters champion in 2011.
Trump executed his game with style, constructing three century breaks along the way.
The Englishman forged breaks of 116 and 69 to establish a 3-0 lead before Ding responded with runs of 98 and 53 to reduce the deficit to a single frame.
However, Trump regained a two-frame cushion with a run of 88 and then compiled brilliant breaks of 117 and 109 to secure a quarter-final meeting with Mark Allen of Northern Ireland on Thursday at 19:00 GMT.
“I feel confident, and I have reached a few finals recently, only to be stopped by some good players,” Trump told BBC Sport.
“I am full of confidence, and hopefully, I can go one better this tournament. I have had a month off from tournaments but have still been putting the work in.”
“I convinced myself my game would not be 6-2, and at 3-0 up, I thought, ‘at least I can’t lose 6-2’,” said Trump.
“It’s incredible really because all the players are so closely matched, and to have every single game go that way is so surprising.”
Ding, who failed to pot another ball after closing the gap to 3-2, acknowledged Trump’s dominance and felt his own play allowed his opponent too many opportunities.
“I played a few terrible safety shots and let him win and have chances easier,” Ding said.
“He was playing well, and I wasn’t at a good enough level to play against him. His standard is very high. He didn’t miss much, and it is very difficult to play him.”
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