Neil Robertson reeled off four straight frames to book his place in the Masters last eight with a 6-3 win over Mark Allen at Alexandra Palace.

"This is the biggest major before the World Championship, and I would like to go one step further here," said Melbourne man Robertson.

"I fully support the decision to move away from the Wembley Arena. It is a fantastic decision to move here."

Robertson hopes Australians in London will come out to support him as he prepares to face Mark Williams on Friday.

"I saw an Aussie guy in the crowd tonight, and it is nice to have some support. I'll buy any Aussie in the crowd who comes to support me a pint," added Robertson.

Allen ousted Robertson from the Masters at the quarter-final stage a year ago in a 6-4 win, but gained a measure of revenge with an eye-catching performance.

There was little to separate them on that occasion, and there was nothing to split them in the first four frames of the night before a vibrant crowd.

Robertson - who lost to Judd Trump in the UK semi-finals - needed one visit to win the first frame with a knock of 74, but Allen did not waste any time in drawing level with an 88.

Allen moved ahead by the odd frame in three courtesy of a classy break of 124.

He looked good to make it 3-1 having been left in by Robertson after contributing an early run of 43 on his way to a 51-0 lead.

A sloppy positional shot handed Robertson a reprieve which he duly snaffled up. This time a 77 was good enough to secure an unlikely frame for the Australian player as the pair headed for the mid-session interval all square at 2-2.

Allen put together an opening knock of 47 in the fifth frame before handing Robertson a chance that this time he could not take as the Northern Irishman moved 3-2 clear.

The unpredictable nature of the contest continued with Allen guilty of a push shot in potting a red on his way to losing the sixth frame.

Robertson recorded a timely 100 break after Allen had failed to hole a long red from distance to move 4-3 ahead for the first time since the opening frame.

It was suddenly all Robertson as closing knocks of 71 - after Allen had broken down on 53 - and 80 secured him a place in the last eight against Williams.

"I lost interest out there. At times, Neil makes the game a bit harder than it is. At times, I just didn't want to watch him play," said Allen. "He can do that to players, but hopefully I'll learn from that and not let it happen to me in the future. I was over-confident going into it when I was 3-2 up, and felt that I just had to turn up to win."

Allen spoke to World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn after berating him for shortening the length of matches at the UK Championship last month, but is yet to be convinced about his intentions for the game.

"He is a very good talker, and he is clear on what he wants," said Allen. "We had a good chat, and we'll see where the game is after his five-year plan."

Desmond Kane at Alexandra Palace / Eurosport