As if any further proof were required after his World Championship triumph last season, Neil Robertson’s capture of the World Open title last night confirmed him as the real deal.
It was his sixth ranking tournament final and his sixth title, itself an indication of how comfortable he is on the big stage and how his reserves of self belief ensure he doesn’t buckle when things get tough.
There were a few inevitable snipes after the Crucible that he had only played one top 16 player in becoming world champion.
But Robertson’s authoritative 5-1 dismissal of an in form Ronnie O’Sullivan in Glasgow provides further proof of his talent, poise and reputation as a big occasion player.
He is now world no.1 and it isn’t surprising given the amount of pressure balls he potted during the week.
He was put under it by Andrew Higginson in the last 16 but time and time again found the right response, as he did from 2-0 down to Mark Williams in the semi-finals.
Robertson’s natural confidence in his own abilities came to the fore in the final. To his credit, O’Sullivan took the defeat with humility: he knew he had been outplayed.
It brought to an end a terrific week of snooker in a tournament that was in many ways the exact opposite of the World Championship – fast, furious and invariably about who makes the best start.
But the winner was the same. And that’s because Neil Robertson is, under any format, a world class talent with a game to match the very best there is.
Robertson was solid. Very good concentration allied with an ability to pot difficult pressure balls, it looks as if he will be around for some time.
ReplyDeleteO'Sullivan didn't perform as well as he did in earlier matches though, and while obviously Robbos high standard was the major factor in his win, I can't help thinking that if a quicker player played at Robertsons level, O'Sullivan would have responded better.
That, however, is a weakness in O'Sullivans armour rather than a criticism of the champion.
I know we say it every year but the game is more open than it has ever been.
Its hard to pick a favourite at the start of an event, and the world no 8 has as much chance as the world no 1.
Theres nobody sticking out for the UK is there?
Robertson definitely outplayed Ronnie last night - but there's a fine line between winning and losing at this level. I think Ronnie's failure to level at 2-2 was a big turning point. Ronnie had a few bad runs of the ball..but in fairness did miss some mid-range pots to leave his opponent in.
ReplyDeleteI hope Ronnie can motivate himself for one more major title before he retires. I think that he knows how good he is...but simply lacks the motivational stamina to win each and every tournament.
His 147 lit up the tournament and put a smile on my face..so thanks for that Ron.
I take my hat off to Neil, he deserves immense credit for this victory. I was one of those who thought to myself that maybe his crucible victory came in one the ‘easier’ years to win it and that he didn’t have a hard passage but what it is now undisputable is that he is one the games top players. Last night’s victory is all the more remarkable given that he hasn’t actually put in that much practice since his summer break!
ReplyDeleteLast week’s snooker was a breath of fresh air. Having a bet on Neil to win last night's final not withstanding! I can’t wait until the UK Championship now.
The Ronnie knockers should back off.
ReplyDeleteHis aceptance of defeat afterwards was gentlemanly beyond anything we have ever seen before in any other sport I can think of.
David, everyone seems to have taken this victory as further proof of how world-class Robertson now is, but can we not look beyond that a little now? I'd say its not out of the question we could be looking at the game's dominant force in the coming years and possibly in 10 years one of the all-time greats.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good show from Robertson this week and i'd say a better performance than that at the World Championships. The BBC were saying that Ronnie had a hard draw but in reality he had a great draw with the likes of White, Hendry and Ebdon all players past their best. King could have potentially been a banana skin.
ReplyDeleteAnyway a great tournament and I expect it will return next season.
Robertson's World Championship triumph in May was muddied by the
ReplyDeleteJohn Higgins saga & indeed,the
uncertainty of Snooker's future
direction.
With all that cast aside & resolved
this is Robbo's moment to bask in
the glory with no distractions,
this time the limelight is all his.
To add to previous articles,
Robertson's relentless allround game deserves comparison to
a peak Steve Davis or indeed,
an at his best John Higgins -
all of them are matchplay snooker
personified.
To make near impossible comebacks &
seize the winning line with such
relish is also very Hendryesque.
Back to the World Open,I am sure
O'Sullivan was anxious & willing
to get Mark Williams in the Final,
ofcourse,Ronnie is unbeaten in
8 years of head to heads with him
As soon as Robbo made the comeback
in the Semis - you could sense
a deflated 'Rocket' & the momentum
swing to Robertson - even before
the Final had begun.
Robertson is a class act,on & off
the table - though,being in the
most competitive era in Snooker's
history - staying at the top will
be no easy feat - there are a host
of players (some already mentioned)
who have superb credentials & will
still win more titles themselves.
Very interesting times !
Neil Robertson has now won 6 rankers.
ReplyDeleteWho knew?
Hendrys old comment that O'Sullivan
ReplyDeleteis a frontrunner, is maybe not so far
from the truth.
Hendry seems to think everyone sympathises with his lowish ranking and is bewildered that he wont be guaranteed a top 16 place all season however badly he plays.
ReplyDeleteLabas
ReplyDeleteGood play - Robertson. Many good long potting and position q ball much better now.
Is Robertson parents from Scotland? I remember famous football player play Scotland called Robertson. Also play for Forests of Nottingham.
Replying to The Snooker Oracle -
ReplyDeleteit is hardly his fault that the likes of Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O Sullivan fell by the wayside.
He did win against the likes of Graeme Dott and Ali Carter for heaven's sake.
As for those still dissing Dott after all these years (not on this page i know but elsewhere, that bloke has been in 3 world finals. Even Mark Selby and Ding Junhui have between them played only 1 final thus far. Give the man credit.
Neil has been the form man over the last year and i wont be surprised if he wins either the UK or Masters.
His Jimmy Whitesque potting ability has never been questioned. But now, he seems to have the Steve Davisesque safety game and the Stephan Hendryesque refuse-to-die attitude to go with it. (just watch his game against Martin Gould. Down 0-6 and 5-11 and came back to win in the 3rd session. Even i thought that it was game over for Neil after the 2nd session).
He's now won his first six ranking finals. According to Wikipedia Mark Williams won his first seven, anyone know if that is a record?
ReplyDeleteronnie played nobody playing even decent to get to the final
ReplyDeletethen was outplayed by a model person and player
Ladies & Gentleman,boys & girls,
ReplyDeletehere are the official 8 World No 1.
Ray Reardon (6 years in total)
Cliff Thorburn (1 year)
Steve Davis (7 years)
Stephen Hendry (9 years)
John Higgins (3 yrs,5 mths)
Mark Williams (3 years)
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5 years)
Neil Robertson - We've only just
begun...............
Betty - Steve Davis won his first
7 ranking Finals (the infamous 85
World Final the first slip up)
According to my research,Mark
Williams won his first 6 Finals,
equal to that of Robertson.
"The Ronnie knockers should back off. His acceptance of defeat afterwards was gentlemanly beyond anything we have ever seen before in any other sport I can think of."
ReplyDeleteIn fairness, I think that's a bit over the top. If you want people to be measured about Ronnie when they're criticising him, it's only fair to be just as measured in praising him.
And when it comes down to it, does anyone seriously think that Ronnie's behaviour over the years hasn't merited strong criticism on many occasions?
Anon 9.27pm - Fair comment.
ReplyDeleteBetty - Wikipedia messed up by
displaying the UK Champs 99 before
the World Champs 99 on Mark J's
chronological list.
Trust me,Williams won his first
6 Ranking Finals - no more,no less.
interesting comments from robertson on the format of the worlds
ReplyDeletehttp://sport.scotsman.com/snooker/Glasgow-success-puts-Crucible-in.6553080.jp
what do you think?
Robertson played well, I'm glad he won. Ronnie just didn't play well but at least he got to the final, he had a 147 that's saying something, 10 147s!!! People would be lucky to get just 1, O'Sullivan should have another world title in him, a UK title in him. Robertson was just too good for him if people didn't criticise Ronnie. It would be a miracle if Ronnie won every tournment of the snooker season wouldn't it? Davis dominated in the 80s but had competition from White,Thorburn,Griffiths,Taylor, A Higgins
ReplyDelete