Masters 2026: Neil Robertson on Freak Coincidence and Ronnie O’Sullivan Withdrawal

Neil Robertson recorded an eighth successive 6-2 victory in the first round of the 2026 Masters, completing a remarkable run in which all eight opening matches finished with the exact same scoreline.

Another 6-2

Bookmakers Betfred shared on X that correctly backing all eight first-round matches to finish 6-2 each way would have paid 220,000/1, while an accumulator picking both the scoreline and all eight winners would have returned a staggering 20,000,000/1.

World Snooker Tour officials confirmed that no first round of any professional snooker event has ever ended with every match finishing identically.

“It’s absolutely unbelievable isn’t it. That’s spooky. I’m sure the bookies were frantically going through to see if anyone had anything on it,” Robertson said after learning the outlandish odds.

Robertson’s match came against last-minute substitute Chris Wakelin, who replaced the legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan, sidelined due to undisclosed medical reasons. The Australian was near flawless, hitting three centuries of 102, 116, and 135 to secure the win.

He knew about the coincidence going into the game and hoped to continue the streak.

“That was an amazing game, and to finish it off with the last 6-2, because when I was potting the balls, I was thinking, oh, thank god I won 6-2. Someone could have jumped over who maybe had a pound on it,” Robertson told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

Why the Scoreline Is So Surprising

The Masters features the world’s top 16 players, making the string of 6-2 results even more unusual.

“The odd thing about it is that you'd think that you'd have closer matches,” he added. 

“It’s really strange to have all 6-2s which on paper are pretty comfortable victories.”

“I remember playing here a couple of occasions where I think maybe in the first round there was maybe five, 6-5s. It's just one of those strange, strange things and maybe never see it again.”

Robertson pointed out that it wasn’t just the heavy favourites winning.

“It’s not as if all the heavy favourites have been winning. Selby lost to Guodong who played brilliant, Shaun [Murphy] lost to Wu Yize.”

“I think the top 16 are so evenly matched, it doesn’t really take that much either way for somebody to win.”

Role Reversal: Robertson vs. O’Sullivan

This match also mirrored Robertson’s situation in last year’s Masters. O’Sullivan pulled out of the 2025 edition, allowing Robertson, then ranked 17th, to take his spot. This year, he found himself facing a last-minute replacement rather than O’Sullivan himself.

“When Ronnie was drawn out of the hat, I was like, wow this is going to be an amazing experience. We’ve had a few great games at this venue already.”

As mentioned, O’Sullivan withdrew on medical grounds, but there had been prior discussion over whether he might also miss the event because of working visa restrictions and limits on his time in the UK since becoming a resident in Dubai.

Robertson acknowledged this beforehand, aware there was always a possibility O’Sullivan would pull out.

“But I did know that I was touch and go in terms of the allowance of the days he has with his Dubai citizenship. So, I knew there was the possibility of him not coming.”

Withdrawal Doesn’t Affect Preparation

Robertson’s focus remained undisturbed despite the last-minute change.

“I wasn’t really surprised when he withdrew, but I was prepared for that. I wasn’t affected at all in terms of my match prep.”

Jokingly, he added that a few friends who were supposed to watch the match also pulled out, likely only wanting to see Ronnie play. 

“It was just one or two who decided not to come and watch me tonight because Ronnie pulled out,” he concluded.