Masters Snooker 2016 Results: Updated Draw and Schedule After Wednesday's Scores
John Higgins opened his 2016 Masters Snooker account with a 6-4 win over Liang Wenbo at Alexandra Palace in London, England.
Liang put together a strong showing on his Ally Pally debut, but Higgins scored three centuries and kept his composure in several key frames to make the difference.
In the evening session, Neil Robertson took full advantage of Marco Fu's struggles to record a whitewash win.
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Here's a look at the results from Wednesday's action and Thursday's schedule:
| John Higgins | 6-4 | Liang Wenbo |
| Neil Robertson | 6-0 | Marco Fu |
| Mark Selby | 1 p.m. GMT/8 a.m. ET | Ronnie O'Sullivan |
| Mark Allen | 7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET | Barry Hawkins |
Neil Robertson 6-0 Marco Fu
Fans hoping for an exciting and close finish to the first round were probably left feeling wanting, as Australia's Robertson cruised to an easy whitewash win over Fu, who never looked comfortable on the table and later confirmed he felt unwell, per sports broadcaster Nick Metcalfe.
Former champion Robertson opened the match with breaks of 106, 57 and 73 to show his strong form, but even when he made the occasional mistake, Fu was powerless to do anything to stop him. To make matters worse, everything seemed to go the Thunder's way, per World Snooker:
It's unfortunate to see Fu bow out of the tournament like this, as last year, he was one of the most popular players at the Masters and stole the show by becoming just the third player to score a maximum at the Ally Pally.
Robertson won't be too upset at the lack of a challenge in the first round, although he could have used an opponent who provided him with a little more resistance, allowing him to practise his safety play.
John Higgins 6-4 Liang Wenbo
The level of play at this year's Masters has been exceptionally high, and Wednesday's afternoon match was no different, as Higgins had to be at his very best to see off debutant Liang.
Metcalfe liked what he saw:
Higgins opened with a 119 break before the UK Championship finalist responded with an 88 to tie things up. The 28-year-old Chinese player has been playing some of the best snooker of his life of late, and his aggressive potting served him well early against the more conservative Higgins.
Liang took the third frame with a high break of 42, displaying some excellent touch on his safeties, but the table opened up beautifully for Higgins in the final frame before the break, and snooker legend Stephen Hendry even thought Higgins was going to make a 147, per ProSnookerBlog:
Higgins made the century but slightly overshot the black to move up to 104, and he missed the red with his next shot.
The 40-year-old jumped out to a lead in the next frame, but once again, Liang hit back immediately to take the sixth frame. Another century from Higgins followed, but some sloppy safety play in the next frame allowed Liang to easily keep pace.
Momentum shifted in the ninth frame, as Higgins made an 85 with some superb long pots, which had been Liang's speciality up until that moment. The debutant did well to keep the next frame close but missed a vital shot on green, stranding at 53 and allowing Higgins to clear the table, via World Snooker:
Per Metcalfe, the winner sounds excited to be at Ally Pally:
Higgins will face a difficult task in the quarter-finals as he will take on Stuart Bingham, who won last year's title and easily disposed of Ding Junhui in the first round.
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