Neil Robertson completed an unprecedented eighth 6-2 win in the first round of the Masters as he advanced past Chris Wakelin into the quarter-finals.
Wu Yize started the sequence when he defeated defending champion Shaun Murphy on Sunday at Alexandra Palace.
And by the time world number one Judd Trump progressed past Ding Junhui on Wednesday afternoon, the odds of such a remarkable run of repeat scorelines were at 44,000-1.
No more than four first-round contests had previously ended 6-2 at any Masters tournament, but when two-time winner Robertson made superb back-to-back century breaks after the interval to establish a 4-2 advantage, a clean sweep appeared inevitable.
Wakelin, making only his second appearance at the Masters, as a last-minute replacement for record eight-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, was unable to arrest the trend.
“I wasn’t even thinking about winning the match – I was thinking just win it 6-2,” joked Robertson on BBC Four.
“I didn’t know if someone in the audience had maybe had a pound on all the matches being the same scoreline or something. It is amazing. I hope I have made someone a multi-millionaire. I have never seen anything like that before.”
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, added: “It is phenomenal. You would normally at least three 6-5 scores because of the nature of the tournament.
“It has been incredible. After the interval players have really stepped up.”
Ken Doherty, who won the 1997 world title, echoed those comments, adding: “I have never seen anything like this in snooker.”
Australia’s Robertson, who knocked in superb breaks of 116, 135 and 102, will now face Kyren Wilson in the last on Friday (19:00 GMT).
