Masters snooker 2024: Neil Robertson faces battle to retain top-16 spot after latest setback in losing to Barry Hawkins

The world No. 7 will sit out the World Grand Prix in Leicester (15-21 January) next week after a nightmare start to the season continued the theme of early exits in a poor 2023/24 campaign so far.

Robertson returned to Australia for a month’s break to “reset” after losing , but could not rediscover peak form in a patchy display against Hawkins in London.

Despite rolling in back-to-back centuries of 117 and 110 to close to 4-3 behind from 4-1 down, it was Hawkins who deservedly secured a quarter-final meeting with seven-time Masters winner Ronnie O’Sullivan on Thursday afternoon after running in 54, 96, 69 and 57.

It was Hawkins’ first win against Robertson since a 10-6 success against the 23-time ranking event winner in the semi-finals of the 2018 China Open.

“Coming into this match, there is always a bit of pressure because he’s not done anything all season. It was nice to get one over on him.

“You can see he’s not full of confidence, but he showed signs of coming back at me there and it was nice to finish off the match.

“When he gets going, it is quite frightening and it’s nice to get another win over him.”

Robertson failed to win a major trophy in 2023 for the first time since 2005 and has work to do to protect his world top-16 spot this season after a series of setbacks in the ranking tournaments he has entered so far.

He has dropped to 32 in the provisional rankings for the end of the season, and is perched at a lowly 88th on the one-year list.

After opting out of the Championship League at the start of the season, Robertson has remarkably failed to go beyond the last 64 of six ranking events, suffering two first-round exits at the European Masters and English Open and at the last-32 stage of the UK.

His best performance of the season saw him reach the semi-finals of the invitational Shanghai Masters in September, losing 10-7 to world champion Luca Brecel, but like the invitational Masters, that does not count towards his ranking.

Opting out of the Shoot Out and the Scottish Open last month ended any hopes of qualifying for the World Grand Prix via the one-year list.

He also risks failing to qualify for the Players Championship (top 16 on the one-year list) and Tour Championship (top eight on the one-year list) unless he can find some form at the German Masters, Welsh Open and World Open.

The 2010 word champion returns to action in the qualifying round for the World Open when he faces Victor Sarkis in Barnsley on Monday January 22.

Robertson’s opening match against Sanderson Lam at the German Masters at Berlin’s Tempodrom has been held over to the finals on Monday January 29, the opening day of the event.

While his tournament opener against Jackson Page at the Welsh Open in Llandudno wIll also be staged at the finals venue on Monday February 12.