Neil Robertson is just one frame away from becoming the second player to whitewash his opponent in a two-session ranking event final as he leads Zhou Yuelong 8-0 at the BetVictor European Masters.
The only previous whitewash in a ranking final of similar length came at the 1989 Grand Prix when Steve Davis beat Dean Reynolds 10-0.
Victory would give Robertson his 17th ranking title, moving him level with Mark Selby in sixth place on the all-time list. It would be his first ranking title of the season, though he did win the invitational Champion of Champions in November.
The winner’s cheque would give the 37-year-old Australian an early lead in the race to claim the £150,000 bonus in the new BetVictor European Series.
China’s 22-year-old Zhou, playing in his first ranking final, would need an unprecedented fight-back tonight to avoid the runner-up prize of £35,000.
Zhou had chances in the first two frames but couldn’t take them, allowing his opponent to forge ahead. In the opener, Zhou might have cleared from 45-0 down, but failed to gain position on the final blue. A safety exchange on the pink ended when Zhou’s safety error left it over a middle pocket, and Robertson took the opportunity.
At that stage Zhou was at the wrong end of a sequence of 410 unanswered points. He ended that run in frame six, but when it came to the last three reds he failed to escape from a snooker and Robertson added the points he needed to extend his advantage.
Runs of 29 and 34 helped Robertson dominate frame seven, and he finished the session superbly with a 109, his seventh century of the week.
The match resumes at 8pm local time.
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