Neil Robertson praises Australian snooker scene but doubts professional event return
Neil Robertson feels that the amateur snooker circuit back home in Australia is perhaps the best in the world, but the chances of a professional tournament returning 'Down Under' in the near future are slim.
Robertson - who first turned professional in 1998 - is the most successful non-UK player in snooker history. To date, the Australian has won 26 world ranking event titles (putting him seventh on the all-time list) and completed a 'Career Triple Crown' with six such majors in total, including the 2010 World Snooker Championship title.
He is a former world number one, and enters the new top-flight season second in the global standings, and in with a shout of reaching the top of the mountain again over the coming year.
A young Robertson initially cut his competitive teeth on the domestic circuit in Australia, winning both the national under-18 and under-21 snooker crowns. He also won the open-age Oceania, and Australian Open Championships before becoming world under-21 champion in 2003 when the prestigious event was held in New Zealand.
Due to the logistics of the professional snooker tour, the United Kingdom - Cambridge in England, to be more precise - has been Robertson's and his family's home for many years now, but the Antipodean still keeps himself informed about the scene back home.
Robertson salutes snooker on home soil
Speaking exclusively to Totally Snookered at the Crucible Theatre during the recent 2026 World Snooker Championship, Robertson was asked what the amateur circuit is currently like there. He was very positive with his summary, although reiterated the need for more junior players to get involved and break through.
"In terms of the amateur circuit it's most probably got the best amateur circuit in the world. Prize money is really good, get a lot of good participation" said the 44-year-old.
"The issue has been probably like it has been over here in the UK is that there's been a real, like a dry spell in terms of how many juniors are kind of like coming through. We do have a couple that are actually starting to come through now which is actually quite nice to see, but we need a lot more as we do here in this country as well."
Australia hosts several big national amateur competitions each year, and a few of those in recent years have been part of the Global Q Tour circuit - sanctioned/organised by snooker's governing body the WPBSA - which provides a pathway for cueists to qualify for the professional ranks.
Over the past 15 years or so, several Australians have qualified for snooker's top tier, although none of them really made an impact, and they were unable to retain their tour cards.
Robertson admits it would be ‘pretty tough’ for Australian pro event to return soon
Between 2011 to 2015, professional snooker returned to the Oceania region with the Australian Open - the first world ranking event ever to be held in the country. Staged in Bendigo, the tournament was always held in either June or July.
Five different winners emerged from those five editions, with Stuart Bingham claiming the inaugural outing in 2011 (his maiden ranking title), and John Higgins triumphant at the last in 2015.
Home hero Robertson featured every year, and twice came very close to lifting the trophy - denied by Marco Fu (9-6) and Judd Trump (9-5) in the 2013 and 2014 finals respectively.
Asked whether he could envisage another professional event being held in Australia in the near future, Robertson doesn't think that's likely, citing an already very busy tournament calendar on the World Snooker Tour.
"In terms of seeing another professional event in Australia, it'd be pretty tough because the calendar is already so congested as it is that to the point where probably we're not going to be able to play in every China event this season" said Robertson, who last season made his 1,000th century break in pro play.
"I think that if you look at it, if we play in every China event, we'll be looking to stay in China for five consecutive weeks...that'd be pretty tough, especially with someone who's got a young family.”
Despite it not being on the calendar for over a decade now, and its unlikely prospects for a quick return, Robertson is thankful that he had the opportunity to perform in front of a home crowd.
"It was great that I could have a tournament in Australia...I would have loved it to have been in Melbourne, of course, but it wasn't, but I was still grateful for the fact that I had an event there for five years."
Robertson’s first assignment of the 2026/27 season is set to be at the Shanghai Masters in late July.