Neil Robertson denies Ronnie O'Sullivan in a thrilling final to win the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters title

Robertson’s triumph at the Green Halls in Jeddah represents the 26th world ranking event title of his illustrious career, drawing him level with Mark Williams on the all-time list of players with the most ranked wins.

The Australian collects a top prize of £500,000, which is exactly double his previous highest single payday on the professional snooker circuit. With that amount added to his rankings tally, Robertson moves up to number three in the world.

It has been quite a turnaround in form for career Triple Crown winner Robertson over the past 12 months. Prior to this spell he fell outside the world’s elite top 16 bracket and subsequently failed to qualify for the televised stages of the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre for the first time in two decades.

The rejuvenation began at last season’s English Open when Robertson lifted The Steve Davis Trophy in Brentwood to end a near two-and-a-half year wait for a ranking crown.

Several months later, Robertson secured the second ranked title of his season at the 2025 World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.

These results helped him to firmly re-establish himself within the sport’s top echelons, but this latest success - in snooker’s ‘fourth major’ - represents his biggest accolade since the 2022 Masters.

Rollercoaster of emotions as Robertson holds tight in epic finale

Robertson reached Saturday’s final following victories over Ben Woollaston (5-2), Mark Selby (6-4), Ali Carter (6-4) and Elliot Slessor (6-3) earlier in the week in the Middle East.

It was the eighth time that Robertson and O’Sullivan had clashed in a professional event final, with O’Sullivan leading the count going into their latest title tie by four wins to three, including their most recent at the 2021 World Grand Prix.

A high-quality start to the final ensued with Robertson making breaks of 76, 108 and 81 in building a 3-1 mid-session interval lead; O'Sullivan getting on the scoreboard in frame two with a 92.

'The Thunder from Down Under' then repeated the result in the second half of the afternoon session (breaks of 61, 97; O'Sullivan made a 67) to establish control at 6-2 up.

On resumption a few hours later, Robertson compiled a 97 in frame nine to stretch his advantage further.

O’Sullivan was facing a rescue mission, although he was already accustomed to performing recoveries in what had been an extraordinary Saudi Masters campaign for him.

Following a 5-0 whitewash win over Joe O’Connor, O’Sullivan came back from 5-2 down to pip Chinese youngster Chang Bingyu 6-5 in the last 16.

In the quarter-finals, the seven-time World Champion recovered from two down with three to play to defeat world number two Kyren Wilson 6-5, before creating history in his 6-3 semi-final victory over Chris Wakelin where he crafted two maximum 147 breaks within the same match - the first time that multiple 147s had been made within the same session on the pro tour.

'The Rocket' went on a five-frame burst with runs of 139, 97, 89, 57 and 80 to draw level at 7-7 in the final.

Robertson ended that sequence and steadied his ship with a 75 to win frame 15 and go back in front at 8-7, but O'Sullivan crucially took a dramatic frame 16 on the final pink to restore parity at 8-8 before going in front for the first time and reaching the hill at 9-8 up (64 break).

O’Sullivan - who was aiming for a record-extended 42nd ranking event title and to swell his earnings this week to over £680,000 when you included his maximum break bonuses - got in first in frame 18 but broke down, allowing Robertson to later craft a break of 101 to make it 9-9.

For the second year in succession, the final went to a deciding frame. O'Sullivan scored first with a 31 but failed to develop the pack of reds and that contribution was cut.

Following an exchange of play, Robertson went about constructing a cool clearance of 87 - including a crucial pot on the final red into the green pocket - to obtain the winning verdict from an exhilarating final.

Please visit our 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters tournament information centre here for the draw, results and other details on the event.