ReutersRobertson bounded into a 3-0 lead against Selby in Group A aided by runs of 63 and 72. Selby won his only frame of the match with a 61, but further runs of 62 and 37 helped the Australian complete a comfortable victory.
“I made three frame-winning breaks from not a lot,” said Robertson. “I think Mark probably thought he would get back to the table pretty quickly. You can’t get much better than a 5-1 win in your opening match.
“It wasn’t as easy [as the score suggests], there was maybe one or two tight frames but once I got in and made 60 I won the frames comfortably, so overall I am really pleased with how I played.
“Mark missed a couple of chances he might not have expected to but it was a very hot night and sometimes that can make it difficult to concentrate.
“A good start is something I hadn’t been getting in my previous Premier League seasons so now I can go into my next match with a lot of confidence.”
Ebdon made runs of 80, 83 and 103 to open his campaign with a comfortable victory against Group B rival Lee, who managed to run in a knock of 87 in the third frame. Lee lost 5-1 to Judd Trump in his opening match of the tournament and is bottom of Group B with two defeats.
Full results
GROUP A
Shuan Murphy 2-4 Ding Junhui
81-22 (Murphy 81), 54-55 (Murphy 49, Ding 36), 0-82 (Ding 82), 76-9 (Murphy 63), 11-79 (Ding 44, 35), 14-72 (Ding 64)
GROUP B
Judd Trump 5-1 Stephen Lee
57-47 (Trump 43), 96-0 (Trump 95), 63-61 (Trump 48, Lee 36), 121-0 (Trump 121), 113-0 (Trump 113), 0-68 (Lee 68)
GROUP A
Mark Selby 1-5 Neil Robertson
GROUP B
Stephen Lee 1-5 Peter Ebdon
16-73 (Ebdon 31), 56-60 (Lee 32, Ebdon 22), 90-2 (Lee 87), 1-80 (Ebdon 80), 45-83 (Lee 45, Ebdon 83), 21-103 (Ebdon 103)
Group A
Shanghai Masters champion: Mark Selby (world number1)
Brazilian Masters champion: Shaun Murphy (6)
Masters champion: Neil Robertson (7)
Championship League winner: Ding Junhui (11)
2011 Australian Goldfields Open champion: Stuart Bingham (16)
Group B
UK champion: Judd Trump (2)
Wild Card: John Higgins (5)
PTC Grand Final champion: Stephen Lee (8)
World Open champion: Mark Allen (12)
China Open champion: Peter Ebdon (20)
