Freak set of repeat results sweep the board as Masters quarter-finals line-up complete

World number one Judd Trump, and Neil Robertson - number one on the one-year list - were the final players to book a ticket for the last eight in the £1 million-plus invitational tournament following victories on Wednesday in London.

On his 15th appearance in the event, two-time Masters champion Trump progressed following an impressive victory over 2011 champion Ding Junhui.

'The Ace in the Pack' deposited the opening frame of the afternoon before efforts of 116 and 69 put him in control at 3-0 up. However, China's Ding got on the board and into the tie as efforts of 98 and 53 either side of the mid-session interval put him only a frame adrift.

Momentum shifted again, though, as Trump powered to the finish line with breaks of 88, 117 and 109 across the final three frames - not allowing his opponent to pot a single ball during that spell.

Trump sets up a mouth-watering contest with Mark Allen on Thursday night in the capital city. It will be the 36-year-old's 10th Masters quarter-final outing; he has lost his opening round match just once in his last eight appearances in the competition.

The Bristolian did not win a professional title in 2025 - the first time that happened in a calendar year for him since 2013. Trump, though, finished the year reaching three finals in close succession at the Northern Ireland Open, Champion of Champion, and UK Championship.

And despite having had to settle with silver on each of those occasions, Trump is feeling good about his game. Speaking to BBC Sport shortly after the match, the 30-time ranking event winner said: "I feel confident and have got to a few finals recently and it has taken some good players to stop me."

"I am full of confidence and hopefully I can go one better this tournament. I have had a month off tournaments but still been putting the work in."

Another player aiming to complete a career hat-trick of Masters titles this week is Neil Robertson, who also like Trump, recorded a trio of tons during his win over Chris Wakelin in the evening session.

The Australian led twice early on (53 break, frame three) but runs of 65 and 101 helped Wakelin restore parity each time as they went into the interval locked at 2-2.

Recently crowned Scottish Open champion just before Christmas, Wakelin was the late replacement for Ronnie O'Sullivan in the draw, after the record eight-time winner withdrew a couple of days before the event began due to medical reasons.

On resumption, it was almost all one-way traffic, as reigning Saudi Arabia Masters champion Robertson completed victory in style, stringing together the final four frames along with breaks of 116, 135 and 102.

The 20th Masters appearance of his career, 'The Thunder from Down Under' is through to the last eight of professional snooker's most prestigious invitational event for the 13th time. He’ll meet Kyren Wilson on Friday evening for a spot in the final four.

"I have never seen anything like this in snooker”

Talk of round one has been about the bizarre sequence of 6-2 outcomes; a clean sweep - all eight fixtures ended that way.

Interviewed by BBC Sport following his win, Robertson said: "I wasn't even thinking about winning the match, I was thinking just win it 6-2.

"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."

BBC pundits were perplexed with the perfect set of repeat results. John Parrott said: “It has happened folks. All eight matches have finished 6-2. You couldn't write it” and fellow former world champion Ken Doherty: "I have never seen anything like this in snooker."

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Masters, visit here.