Chris Wakelin’s dream run continues as he beats Neil Robertson to reach German Masters quarter-finals

Neil Robertson’s search for a first ranking title of the season goes on, as he was sent crashing out of the German Masters 5-4 by Chris Wakelin.

Confidence is an incredible piece of fuel, and Wakelin drew on his recent high to send the 2010 world champion home.

Wakelin will be back later on Friday to take on Robert Milkins in the quarter-finals.

A dramatic first frame appeared to be going the way of Wakelin, but he missed a black off its spot when 59-4 up.

Robertson got in after Wakelin tried a cross-double and was on his way to stealing the frame, needing just the colours up to the pink.

However, the former world champion missed the final blue and his opponent took advantage to claim the lead.

In frame two, Wakelin went for a risky long red which wobbled in the jaws several times but did not go in. Robertson took advantage with an excellent break of 92 which consisted of only reds and pinks.

Wakelin played a poor shot at the start of the third and again left Robertson in. This time, he could only make 38 after missing a thin red that was on the bottom cushion.

But, Wakelin missed his first colour as a pink to the bottom right dangled over the pocket. A couple of scoring visits later and Robertson was 2-1 ahead.

The Australian doubled his lead when he made breaks of 52 and 15 following further safety errors from Wakelin.

It was a similar story after the mid-session interval when Wakelin missed a long red, leaving Robertson with an easy starter.

Surprisingly, Robertson missed a simple red to the middle, and Wakelin cleared up with a delightful century clearance to reduce the deficit to one frame.

The sixth frame saw nerves rear their head, as both players missed presentable chances.

A missed red from Robertson proved the costliest, as Wakelin picked off the balls he required to get to snookers required, and closed it out after a bout of safety to draw level.

From holding a two-frame lead, Robertson found himself behind in the match as Wakelin produced a nuggety break to take the seventh.

The table looked extremely tough when Wakelin got an opening, but he knocked in a string of difficult balls in a break of 50. Coupled with 16 points in fouls from a devilish snooker, it got Wakelin over the line and into a 4-3 lead.

A feature of the second half of the match was Wakelin’s precision safety. After getting in first in the decider, he ran out of position with a 47-point lead. Disappointment was etched over his face, but his control of the cue ball earned him a second chance.

Robertson is one of the biggest names in the sport, and commands a presence at the table, but Wakelin was rock solid in closing out the match.

For Robertson, it leaves him on the outside for qualification to the Players Championship – and he will need a big run at the Welsh Open to book his ticket.

Milkins is up next for Wakelin following his battling 5-3 win over Luca Brecel, while Ali Carter will face Pang Junxu after their 5-1 wins over Louis Heathcote and Ricky Walden respectively.

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