Neil Robertson believes a Ryder Cup-style snooker event would be "awesome"

It was a very busy weekend of world class sporting action that included the climaxes of both the British Open snooker and Ryder Cup golf.

Shaun Murphy defeated Anthony McGill 10-7 in the final to win in Cheltenham, while on the other side of the Atlantic, Team Europe successfully defended and won the Ryder Cup crown at Bethpage Black in New York after holding off hosts Team USA by 15 points to 13.

World number three Robertson - who has become quite a big golf fan in recent times - was able to watch the unfolding drama from the United States having been eliminated from the British Open by Murphy in the last 32 on Thursday afternoon.

Reigning Saudi Arabia Masters champion Robertson posted on X before the final day’s play from New York, jokingly suggesting that the European team should give the Americans a head start. At the time, the away team led by several points and were on course for a comfortable victory.

One X user replied to Robertson’s quip, saying that they would love to see a big team event in snooker, pitching together sides from Great Britain and the Rest of the World.

The account @DJCASHIN suggested that there could be six players on either side, with doubles and singles matches on the programme - just like at the Ryder Cup.

Australian Robertson was listed for the ROW team, along with fellow Crucible champions Luca Brecel and Zhao Xintong.

It was a concept that Robertson certainly liked the sound of, as he shared the post saying “This would be awesome”.

Could a Ryder Cup of Snooker work? A brief look at team snooker events in the past

Professional snooker is almost exclusively an individual endeavour, but there is a rich history of team events down the years on the sport’s top flight.

The World Challenge Cup was held in 1979 and 1980 before the World Team Classic took place for three editions between 1981 to 1983.

The inaugural World Cup was staged in 1985 in Bournemouth with the All-Ireland side of Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor and Eugene Hughes defeating England in the final.

Those three Irish stars combined together again to also claim the title in 1986 and 1987 before England won back-to-back titles in 1988 and 1989. Canada were triumphant in 1990.

It wasn't until six years later that the next World Cup was played; the Scotland 'Dream Team' of Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, and Alan McManus lifted the trophy in Bangkok, Thailand.

The World Cup did not return until 2011, and there was a format change with two-player teams instead of three.

Chinese sides won the next three editions (2011, 2015, 2017) with Scotland regaining the accolade in 2019 - the last time the competition was held.

Between 1999 to 2001 there were three stagings of the Nations Cup with Wales, England and Scotland outfits victorious.

In the 1980s, the World Doubles Championship was held for six consecutive years, with cueists allowed to pair up with partners who weren't the same nationality.

Steve Davis and Tony Meo won this title four times, with Alex Higgins & Jimmy White taking the honours in 1984, and Mike Hallett & Stephen Hendry successful at the last dance in 1987.

There has also been a World Mixed Doubles Championship with editions in 1991, 1993, 2022 and 2024.

Away from the professional circuit, exhibition events consisting of teams have been held - several of which were organised by Jason Francis and his Snooker Legends promotion.

In July 2017, a challenge match was played between Great Britain and China in Shenzhen, China. Each side had five players - Ding Junhui and Zhao Xintong featured for the hosts, and Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams represented GB.

The unique event consisted of single frame matches between individuals and pairings. Great Britain won 26-9.

So what about a big two-team spectacle on the World Snooker Tour with players qualifying for their respective sides via the world rankings?

In the 9-ball pool world there is the long-standing Mosconi Cup (Europe v USA), and the fairly new Reyes Cup that is now Asia versus the Rest of the World. Teams for these events are selected through the World Nineball Tour rankings and wildcard picks.

One of the issues of putting on a Great Britain v the Rest of the World team snooker event is making it worthwhile for the sport’s top stars to play in it. The event would need the biggest names to make it creditable.

The potential line-ups for a GB v ROW encounter are certainly tasty, but would putting together a ROW team from different countries, cultures and languages seem a little forced, and would certain players have the same passion to be involved? At the Ryder Cup or Mosconi Cup there are two ‘distinctive’ blocks of players and fans.

An alternative could be to have GB v Asia, or perhaps just China, but then several players couldn’t be involved, including Robertson.

Two of the last three world champions have been from outside of the United Kingdom, and both are history-makers.

Brecel was the first winner of snooker’s blue riband event from mainland Europe in 2023, while current Crucible king Zhao is the first Chinese and first Asian player to have lifted the iconic trophy.

There doesn’t seem to be any serious talk of a Ryder Cup of Snooker on the horizon, but if all the dream elements somehow came together, it could be quite cool.