Neil Robertson wins 2024 English Open snooker to end title wait

It is the second time that Robertson has lifted the Steve Davis Trophy and his latest triumph on the World Snooker Tour represents the 24th ranking event title of his illustrious career, but his first in nearly two-and-a-half years. The £100,000 top prize the Australian pockets also pushes him back into the world’s top 16.

The 42-year-old showed signs of a return to form earlier this month when he reached the last eight of the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Riyadh when he was eliminated by world number one and eventual champion Judd Trump.

En route to the final at the Brentwood Centre, Robertson dropped just five frames in five matches, dismissing Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, and in the semi-finals Chris Wakelin along the way.

In Sunday’s showpiece against maiden ranking event finalist Wu, breaks of 75, 71 and 77 helped Robertson establish a 3-0 lead before he also deposited the fourth frame to go into the mid-session interval 4-0 up.

There were a couple of blips from the left-hander in frame five, though, when he unexpectedly missed a brown, and later a blue, when it appeared almost certain that he was going to make it 5-0. Wu slotted home the final three colours to open his account.

There was another scare for Robertson in frame six when his opponent put it back in the balance having needed a snooker, although he did eventually secure it for 5-1. The Career Triple Crown winner then finished the afternoon’s play in style by compiling a 104 and then a 138 total clearance in consecutive frames for complete control at 7-1 up.

Wu Yize’s big comeback comes up just short

On resumption a few hours later, Robertson needed only two frames to reach the target of nine, but if anyone thought it was going to be a precession, they were very much mistaken as Wu began to exhibit the form that got him to the title match.

The 20-year-old potted a long red direct from his opponent’s break-off shot and went on to compile a 127 total clearance in the first frame of the evening session - this would be a sign of things to come. Robertson bagged a 40-minute-plus frame 10 to go one away from the finish line but brilliant efforts of 100 and 82 from Wu prolonged the contest further into the final mid-session interval.

Wu’s resurgence and burst of form continued after the break as runs of 73 and 95 reduced the gap to only two. Now 8-6, it had gone beyond Wu making the scoreline look respectable to thoughts of conjuring up one of the greatest comebacks in professional snooker history.

Those hopes grew even stronger in frame 15 when Wu capitalised on a fluked red to make a 50 break before later taking the frame and going to within one of his opposite number at 8-7.

During the extraordinary five-frame streak of Wu’s, Robertson was pointless in three of them and scored just one point in another. However, having been frozen out for such a long time, he managed to maintain his concentration during a scrappy start to frame 16, and after a fluke on his opening red - similar to what he had been on the receiving end of in the frame before - he finally had a scoring opportunity to get the task done.

With an unusual layout of the balls, Robertson made a crucial 55 break to leave Wu needing a snooker. After later potting another red, the concession came from the other corner, much to the huge relief of Robertson.

Despite the loss, there is much to be positive about looking ahead for Wu, including all the new followers he gained due to his sizzling recovery. The £45,000 Wu collects is the biggest payday of his professional career, so far, and moves him inside the world’s top 32 for the first time in his career. Such a position would make him one of the top seeds for future Home Nations Series events.

As for Robertson, he will now be aiming to cement his place back in the sport’s elite bracket with seeding for the UK Championship and qualification for the Masters both in mind in future months.

The title also means that Robertson will earn an invite to November’s prestigious Champion of Champions, is in pole position for the £150,000 BetVictor Home Nations bonus, and is likely to be guaranteed qualification for the opening two Players Series events in the new year.

On the all-time list of most decorated ranking event winners in professional snooker, Robertson remains in seventh, although he is now only two behind Mark Williams (26 titles) who is in sixth.

There is no break for the World Snooker Tour with the main venue stages of the 2024 British Open starting on Monday in Cheltenham. Full details on that event are here.