Neil Robertson ends decade-long wait to earn second Cazoo Masters title

Neil Robertson ended a decade-long wait by securing glory in the Cazoo Masters.

The Cambridge-based cueman beat Barry Hawkins 10-4 at Alexandra Palace to claim the title for a second time, the first coming in 2012 when he beat Shaun Murphy.

Robertson caught the eye throughout the tournament on the way to lifting the Paul Hunter Trophy and the £250,000 top prize.

He beat Anthony McGill 6-3, Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-4 and then produced a thrilling 6-5 win over Mark Williams in the semi-final, described as one of snooker’s most dramatic finishes as he came back from requiring two snookers in the decider to win.

“I’m so happy to win this wonderful title again. I had my first win after Alexander was born at this event back in 2012. I always wanted to do a repeat with Penelope here as well, so I’m happy to do that,” said Robertson.

“When I won my first title I thought I’d be able to go back to Australia happy. Who’d have thought I’d still be living here 16 years later.

“I think a lot of things have happened since Barry Hearn took over and gave us more opportunities to play. He has been a massive part of allowing myself and all of the great players in the game to win as much as we have.

“So many people have said they’ve never seen anything like my deciding frame with Mark Williams in sport, let alone snooker.

“I was absolutely dead and buried and all of a sudden it was like a phoenix rising from the ashes.”

In the final, world No 4 Robertson took control of the match in the afternoon, leading 5-3 going into the final session.

They shared the first two frames of the evening session, but Robertson surged clear with breaks of 68 and 114 to taste Masters glory for a second time, and put behind him final defeats in 2013 and 2015.

“Barry was the underdog and I felt like I was the villain spoiling the fairytale at some points,” said Robertson.

“He is such a wonderful player. He really deserves to win one of the big titles. I had to stay focused with the job at hand.

“I knew that the majority of the crowd were with him.

“Luckily with my experience I knew how to silence that a little bit, play well and get a good lead.”

Hawkins said: “It’s a bit disappointing. I expected to go out there and play well.

“I was over the moon to be 5-3 down after the afternoon.

“I felt better tonight, but Neil played stronger. I just made too many mistakes overall.

“Neil is a fantastic player and a fantastic cueist. You just can’t do that at this level.

“This has been one of the best weeks of my life.

“The atmosphere at every match has been phenomenal. There aren’t many snooker players that will have experienced that.

“I am going to remember all of those cheers and they will stay with me for a while.”

The Masters success is Robertson’s sixth Triple Crown title, moving him ahead of Alex Higgins and into eighth on the all-time list behind Ray Reardon, Williams, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and O’Sullivan.