Neil Robertson v Anthony McGill live stream | Masters Snooker 2022 preview
Neil Robertson in action (Zac Goodwin/PA Wire/PA Images)
Neil Robertson begins his latest quest for a second Masters title when he plays Anthony McGill at Alexandra Palace on Sunday.
It is now 10 years since the Thunder lifted the trophy in what was the first staging of snooker’s most prestigious invitational event at the Ally Pally.
The Australian defeated Shaun Murphy 10-6 in the final to become only the fourth overseas winner of the tournament after Cliff Thorburn and Ding Junhui, while reigning champion Yan Bingtao joined that exclusive club last year.
Robertson went on to reach the showpiece in two of the next three years – losing to Mark Selby and Murphy respectively – but arrives in London having suffered back-to-back first-round exits.
Nevertheless, the 39-year-old is in good form, having won the English Open in November and reached the World Grand Prix final just before Christmas.
While Robertson has missed just one edition of the Masters since 2007, this is only McGill’s second appearance at the event.
The Scotsman was beaten 6-4 by compatriot John Higgins on his debut here four years ago – despite recovering from 2-0 down to lead 4-2 – and would love to get his first win on the board.
McGill generally embraces the big stage and boasts a solid record in Triple Crown events.
Indeed, the 30-year-old reached the 2020 World Championship semi-finals – narrowly losing 17-16 after an epic encounter with Kyren Wilson – and a further two quarters, while he has also got to the last eight of the UK Championship on two occasions.
The most recent of those came before Christmas, while he also enjoyed an impressive run to the semi-finals of the Scottish Open.
Play gets underway at 7pm GMT on Sunday with the match contested over the best of 11 frames at the Alexandra Palace.