4 hours ago
27
NEIL ROBERTSON has revealed that switching out his cue for a club has helped him return to form on the baize.
The Thunder from Down Under looked back at his best as he stormed his way to victory in the World Grand Prix earlier this month.
GettyRobertson pocketed £180,000 in Hong Kong after a sensational 10-0 win over Stuart Bingham in the final.
The victory came after a patchy run of form that had seen Robertson lose 10 of his previous 16 matches on tour.
While he even failed to qualify for last year’s World Championship after dropping out of the world’s top 16.
But with this year’s tournament just around the corner, the Aussie’s win has shot him up to 11th in the world rankings and booked him a guaranteed spot at the Crucible.
And Robertson, 43, reckons that the turnaround is all thanks to playing more GOLF.
Speaking after beating Stuart Bingham 6-4 in the Players Championship on Tuesday, he said: “Stuart started really strongly. I expected that.
“I knew after the result in the final he would come out all guns blazing and be really motivated.
“He was looking fantastic at 3-1, but I pinched a couple of frames and turned the game in my favour.
AlamyCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
“I’m really proud. Starting the season my projected season was close to the 40s.
“To have already cemented my place at the Crucible shows that the hard work has paid off. It goes to show that you have to really stick at it.
“Golf has been huge as it has given me a hobby to do. It is great to spend time outside and it’s much healthier than doing gaming or things like that.
“I’ve been told to make sure my wife doesn’t become a golf widow though!
“I have to reign it in as it is quite exciting, because I’m getting quite good at it.”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
Bengali (BD) · 
English (US) ·