Neil Robertson joins the Greats

Last night Neil Robertson became only the 8^th player to win the snooker triple crown – World, UK and Masters titles

In an engrossing final, Robertson came from 5-1 & 6-3 behind to win 10-7. After lacking fluency in the opening session he did well to come out of it only two frames behind at 5-3. A more positive Robertson appeared for the evening session, throwing off the shackles of Selby’s safety and becoming more aggressive was key. Robertson was getting in first and making the most of his chances each frame.

Although struggling throughout Selby was never too far behind and looked to pounce on an unusual error in the 16^th frame when Robertson missed a regulation frame ball pink. However Selby missed the easiest of final blacks much to the shock of himself, Neil and the audience. Robertson tapped in the black and a wave of relief was visible on his face. He held his never in the next frame to complete an emotional victory. 

Had Selby potted that black the match would have been level and thoughts of that Pink may have manifested over the next few frames. However he didn't and the rest is history,. 

Neil finishes the year as the World Number One and is a fantastic role model and spokesperson for the sport. He is the first overseas player to complete the Triple Crown and joins a very prestigious group who have done so before: Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams & Ronnie O’Sullivan. 

I’ve said in previous articles that I believe Neil is the most complete player on the tour at the moment and he should be the yardstick by which everyone else is measured. He joins Ding Junhui on 9 ranking title’s victories and I can see him closing in on Mark Williams 18 over the next five seasons.

The next tournament will be the Masters on the 12^th of January from the Alexandra Palace, London.