FORMER world champion Neil Robertson is through to the quarter-finals of the BGC Masters following a 6-3 victory over Mark Allen.
The opening two frames were shared with Robertson making a 74 and his opponent levelling with an 88, but Allen then surged ahead with an impressive break of 124, to record the 134th century of his career.
With a 52 point advantage, Allen looked set to take the next but a miss on a long green allowed Robertson back in and he stole the frame to level the match going into the mid-session interval with a 77 clearance.
The next two frames were shared when play resumed, but Robertson soon turned up the heat and made a statement of intent with a break of 100.
Allen looked set to level the match once again as he made a break of 53, but he missed a straightforward red into the centre pocket which allowed the Australian to seize the table and make a 71.
The 29-year-old, who lost to Allen at the quarter-final stage last year, completed his victory with a break of 80, and will now face Mark Williams in the last eight.
After the match, Robertson praised the decision to move the tournament to the Alexandra Palace, and agreed with the general consensus that the Wembley Arena lacked the atmosphere and warmth of the old Wembley Conference Centre. He said: “I 100% support the decision to move away from Wembley Arena. I know it’s hard to replicate the atmosphere of the Conference Centre. I was lucky enough to play there, and I played Jimmy White in front of 2,000 people and it was an electric atmosphere.
“The Arena never had the same atmosphere at all. It’s been sell-outs nearly every match here so it’s been fantastic. These are the sort of matches which generally bring the best out of the top players, so this is all we want.
“There was a guy tonight with a yellow shirt with Thunder written on it so it’s good to have a bit of support here. Obviously I will need it if I can get through against Williams because I’ll have either Judd or Ronnie. You know the crowd will get right behind those two so it would be nice to have some support out there. Anyone wearing an Aussie hat or an Aussie shirt I will treat them to a pint.”