Why Neil Robertson conquering Ronnie O'Sullivan in Saudi Arabia is his best win
After O'Sullivan's double-147 masterclass in his semi-final win over Chris Wakelin, there was a lot of expectation on the showpiece between the Rocket and the Thunder from Down Under.
It did not produce the same absurd level of quality as O'Sullivan's previous match, but it was still a very high standard and crucially delivered on drama as well.
Robertson looked like he was going to extract any tension from the situation when he took a 7-2 lead, but the 49-year-old roared back to level the match at 7-7.
O'Sullivan went ahead at 9-8 and looked likely to pull off an incredible comeback before the Australian forced a decider and got over the line with a great break in the last.
The 43-year-old pockets a whopping £500,000 for his brilliant win in Jeddah, but it appeared to be the fact he had beaten O'Sullivan to do it, rather than the cash, that was stirring his emotions most.
'I can't possibly explain in words what it means,' Robertson said on TNT Sports after his win. 'To play Ronnie in a final of this magnitude, growing up as a kid in Australia there's no way in the world I could have dreamt of something like that.
'The way he came back, my god, being in this arena was probably the last place I wanted to be! From 7-2 to 7-7 was incredible, I barely did anything wrong. He was pretty unlucky in the last couple of frames there.
'I'm incredibly grateful to share the stage with him, it's not about winning or losing, it's about me doing my best and putting on a great match for everyone here in Saudi. They're definitely getting their money's worth in these finals the last two years.'
Robertson was referencing the first edition of the Saudi Arabia Masters last year in Riyadh which saw Judd Trump beat Mark Williams on the final black in an even more dramatic showpiece.
What was more surprising from the champion was that he then rated his Saudi triumph as his greatest, surpassing his 2010 World Championship win.
'I think it surpasses the World Championship because I've had to answer a lot of questions, like can I beat someone like Ronnie in a final of this magnitude?' Robertson explained.
'We've played in many finals before, he's probably won more than me. But to beat him here with so much on the line, it's definitely my best win.'
Robertson further put into context what winning a huge tournament means after hitting something of a career low point only last year.
Having slipped out of the world's top 16 after a disappointing season, Robertson went to qualifying for the 2024 World Championship and didn't make it through, losing to Jamie Jones in the final round.
In Riyadh last year he was still well outside the top 16 and, although he has won the English Open and World Grand Prix since then to address that, this is the biggest success since that slump in his results.
The huge top prize takes him back up to world number three, on which he said: 'It feels great. Coming into this tournament last year I was 28 in the world, provisionally 40-something.
'Hopefully my story can inspire younger generations. Never give up, you're going to get ups and downs in sport. It's not about how far you fall, it's about how far you bounce back.'
It is easy to think that the money is why Robertson sees this as his best win. Financially it is comfortably his greatest triumph as the Jeddah top prize is double the £250,000 he won at the Crucible back in 2010.
Money has to come into it because when he talks about 'a final of this magnitude,' the two-year old tournament, largely played in front of paltry crowds can only boast the magnitude it does because of the huge riches on offer.
However, the context of his Saudi win in terms of when it has come in his career and who it came against seem to be more why Robertson puts this one at the top of his incredible CV.
Ronnie O'Sullivan – 41
Stephen Hendry – 36
John Higgins – 33
Judd Trump – 30
Steve Davis – 28
Mark Williams – 26
Neil Robertson – 26
Mark Selby – 24
Ding Junhui – 15
Shaun Murphy – 12
Few genuinely thought he was finished as a force when he dropped down the rankings, but as it came past the age of 40, it could not be entirely ruled out.
Now to beat the sport's consensus GOAT in a huge final, in dramatic circumstances, when he had to face up to a great surge of a comeback from the Rocket, it proved to himself that he still has everything he has shown in the past to win the World Championship, UK Championship three times and Masters twice.
Even for the ever-positive and confident Australian, doubts will have crept in and he appears to have silenced those voices with this victory.
When he has hung up his cue in many years' time and looks back on one of the great careers, he may revert back to thinking becoming world champion was the pinnacle, but maybe not, that's up to him.
With the renewed confidence that the Saudi trophy on his mantlepiece will give him, there could yet be another World Championship title to come as Robertson's solitary appearance in a Crucible final remains one of the major mysteries of the modern game.
O'Sullivan's performance against Wakelin was as good as it gets and he understandably couldn't replicate that against Robertson. More Trending
He is still clearly back to competing at the top level, though, after a disappointing last campaign and big changes in his life in and out of snooker.
He is playing with a new cue, but more importantly has got married and moved to Dubai, with all these changes seemingly working very nicely for him on the table, despite the narrow loss.
Taking defeat well, he said: 'Neil deserved his victory, he was the better player today. I just tried to hang on to him and make a bit of a game of it. I was pleased I did tonight. 6-2 down, he outplayed me, 7-2 down it looked like it could be an early night. I was pleased to take it a little bit longer.
'Neil played the better snooker, probably played the best snooker all week. I came here this week and I would have been happy to win a couple of matches so to get to the final I'm very happy, you can't be too greedy. I was pleased with my performances, disappointed I didn't win, but Neil deserved his victory.'
MORE: Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 2025 results, schedule, TV channel and prize money
MORE: How Chang Bingyu has exploded back from match-fixing ban to become snooker force
MORE: Ronnie O'Sullivan heaps praise on rival: 'Like playing Hendry in his prime'
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