Robertson sees off Wu to make UK Championship quarters

Neil Robertson cruised to a 6-1 win over Wu Yize and moved into the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in York.

China's Wu had knocked in a break of 62 as he took the opening frame but it was largely one-way traffic after that as the Australian took control.

Robertson, 43, who has been crowned UK champion three times previously, compiled breaks of 51, 65, 75 and 68 as he reeled off the next five frames.

Wu, who won the International Championship last month, had no reply and Robertson, came from 48 points behind to take the seventh frame.

Robertson will now face Pang Junxu, who defeated two-time winner Mark Williams 6-3.

Pang, who lost 6-1 in his only previous meeting with the Welshman, was given a standing ovation after rounding off his win with a superb break of 116.

After the players traded the opening two frames, the 25-year-old from China won the next three.

While Williams, who made two centuries, briefly rallied to get back to 4-3, he inadvertently knocked in a red while potting the pink to hand his opponent the advantage in the next - and was then punished for missing a long red in the ninth frame.

"I played pretty poor. That's how it is now - I either play well or terrible," said Williams.

"I have no grumbles. He was the better player."

Tighter pockets 'keeping everyone honest'

Robertson, who at one stage dropped to 28th in the world during a dreadful run of form in 2023 and 2024, has appeared rejuvenated in recent times.

Back up to third in the world rankings, he is also currently top of snooker's one-year list for prize money, having won the lucrative Saudi Arabia Masters earlier this term.

And while several players have complained about table conditions, Robertson says that tighter pockets have been more in keeping with his first 10 years as a professional and provide a fairer test.

"I feel as though the last 10 years there have been much more events with much bigger pockets," Robertson said on BBC Two.

"You have a group of players who can play great even on those pockets and a group that can't play great on those pockets. What I've seen is a lot of misses that I used to see in my first 10 years as a professional.

"There are too many matches where people make three or four centuries and you think 'did they actually reach that level of quality'?

"They are keeping everyone honest. There will be a lot of professionals at home thinking 'thanks Neil for speaking out'. It has been an issue in the game that players have been talking about, especially in China where people are having inflated results.

"It is like someone going out and shooting 14 under par in a round of golf because the course is just way too easy."