Neil Robertson claimed his second Masters title with a 10-4 victory over Barry Hawkins at Alexandra Palace.
The 39-year-old Australian, champion in 2012, dominated after Hawkins suffered from a slice of misfortune in the fifth frame with the score at 2-2.
Hawkins fouled the green with his sleeve and Robertson, who took advantage of a free ball to clear and take the frame, never looked back to take the £250,000 winner’s prize.
Neil Robertson has won the @CazooUK Masters, beating Barry Hawkins 10-4 in the final #CazooMasters @nr147 pic.twitter.com/4TRDVYy1kc
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) January 16, 2022
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“I’m so happy to win this wonderful title again,” Robertson told BBC Sport as he held young daughter Penelope in his arms.
“This was my first title I won after (son) Alexander was born.
“I always wanted a mini-repeat with Penelope here as well. She’s about the same age actually, so I’m happy for that.”
Robertson required two snookers in the final frame of his classic semi-final against Mark Williams to progress to his fourth Masters final.
He managed to do that to complete a fightback from 5-3 down to win the best-of-11 encounter
Robertson said: “I was disappointed when we went into lockdown again and it’s just so fantastic to hear London cheer again for a snooker tournament.
“I tried to forget about it (the semi-final) and reset to play Barry.
“Then I got about 300 text messages from people saying they’d never seen anything like it.
“Every person I met coming into the venue said: ‘What about yesterday?’
“I said: ‘Hey, I’m trying to forget about that and concentrate on the final.'”
Hawkins had the majority of the support in the sell-out crowd, but the Englishman appeared nervous in the first session.
Robertson took a two-frame advantage into the interval after making breaks of 50, 105, 54, 54 and 73, while Hawkins’ highest break was 60.
"Stunning long red" 🔥🔴
An absolute 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿 from Neil Robertson - how about that! 🤯#CazooMasters | @WeAreWST pic.twitter.com/wO9no30oqA— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 16, 2022
Hawkins won the opening frame but that was the only time Robertson trailed in what was becoming an increasingly one-sided final.
Robertson extended his lead to 6-3 straight after the resumption before a 69 break gave Hawkins hope of a comeback.
But Robertson raced ahead with a 68 break and a straightforward Hawkins miss on a black in the next frame saw the Australian take an 8-4 lead into the mid-session interval.
Robertson compiled a second century break, a match-best 114, in the next frame, and he quickly closed out victory to start the celebrations with wife Mille and young family.
