NEIL ROBERTSON has heaped praise on his new team in the wake of his stunning Saudi Arabia Masters victory.
The Aussie battled to a narrow 10-9 victory in a fantastic final against snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan .
The 43-year-old netted the tournament’s substantial £500,000 prize and climbed to third in the WST snooker rankings, leapfrogging his final opponent to slot in below second-place Kyren Wilson .
He said: “This is a huge rebound from right at the bottom.
“Things couldn’t have been any worse for me 18 months ago. So to be able to come back the way I have I think this is a feel good story.”
It has been a tough run for the former world champion in recent years.
He missed tournaments and slipped down the rankings in 2023, culminating in him missing the 2024 world championships and being forced to play in qualifiers and losing.
To go from a fading star to the winner of one of the biggest prize pots in professional snooker has been quite the turnaround.
It is a resurgence that the Thunder from Down Under attributes in part to his new team, featuring sports psychologist Helen Davis and coach Joe Perry.
He continued: “I always thought I was really strong mentally, which I am, but I think when you see an actual specialist, a sports psychologist, and you look at tennis players and golfers…
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“They’re always thanking their team whenever they win, that’s the first people they thank is their team.
“That’s what I’ve managed to set up with Helen Davis, who’s worked with Wimbledon champions, and with Joe [Perry].
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era , with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
- 2025 – Zhao Xintong
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
“At the start of the summer the three of us were on a Zoom call and we talked for about two hours about what is the plan for the season, the mindset, the style of play, what we want to achieve and to see it all come together so quickly is amazing.
“Helen has just transformed my life, she really has.”
Winning any major tournament is a statement, but doing so against a marauding O’Sullivan is a particularly emphatic way to start the snooker season.
Whether it be his team or newfound confidence to blame, Robertson has clearly reinstated himself as a force to be reckoned with this year.
