Neil Robertson whitewashed Stuart Bingham in the World Grand Prix final (Image: Getty)
has suggested that his barren run without a snooker title helped propel him to World Grand Prix glory in Hong Kong. The Australian cueist went on a lengthy drought between the Tour Championship in April 2022 and the English Open in September 2024, but he insists that troublesome spell has made him into a better player.
Robertson was in imperious form as he whitewashed Stuart Bingham in the World Grand Prix final on Sunday. He won all eight frames of the opening session, and then finished the job once play resumed to come away with a resounding 10-0 victory. Afterwards, he cited his cold streak as a factor in him finding his way back to big titles.
“Last year was disappointing as that was the only year I missed out,” he admitted. “I believe that’s what made me a better player overall going into this season, working with Helen Davies, my sports psychologist, and Jo Perry.
“I’ve got a great team. Two kids, [my wife] holding down the fort while I’m away and she does an amazing job. Without all those things working together, you don’t have a successful career. It’s as much thanks to them as it is the work that I put in.”
After winning the first World Grand Prix to be held outside the UK, Robertson has now racked up 25 career ranking titles, which moves him above Mark Selby to seventh on the all-time winners list.
Stuart Bingham had no answers to Neil Robertson’s red-hot form in Hong Kong (Image: Getty)
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The 43-year-old also surged from 19th to 11th in the world rankings courtesy of the £180,000 top prize on offer in Hong Kong. Robertson’s upwards trajectory has come at an opportune moment, with seedings up for grabs at next month’s World Snooker Championship.
There have only been four clean sweeps in two-session ranking finals, and Robertson now has two of them. His first came in a 9-0 thrashing of Zhou Yuelong at the European Masters in 2020.
Bingham was the latest player to be on the receiving end, and he revealed after Sunday’s match that he had been battling problems off the table.
“My local coach Joe Lazarus passed away this week and my uncle Ray passed away this morning,” . “So it ain’t been a good week off the table. Shout out to them guys. But have to take the positives, Telford in a week’s time and I’ve got that. I want Neil in the draw, he ain’t going to be beat me 10-0 again!”