NEIL ROBERTSON held off a spirited comeback from Ronnie O’Sullivan to land a £500,000 desert jackpot in a final-frame thriller.
The Australian cueist, 43, secured the biggest pay cheque of his career as he beat the Rocket 10-9 in a wonderful Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters final.
GettyNeil Robertson won the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters[/caption]
GettyRobertson got the better of Ronnie O’Sullivan in a tense final[/caption]
Robertson, who was dominant in the afternoon session, led 7-2 and was only three frames away from the victory in the so-called ‘fourth major’.
Maximum Man O’Sullivan, 49, won five frames in a row – his 139 in frame 10 was the 1300th century of his career – to level up at 7-7.
Yet despite going 9-8 down following his opponent’s fightback, the Thunder from Down Under did not lose faith in Jeddah.
And following an O’Sullivan error, he capitalised with a superb break of 87 in a nervy clincher.
It was the second year running that this title had gone down to a final frame.
It was Robertson’s 26th ranking tournament victory, his second this calendar year, and frame 19 was the most expensive in snooker history – worth £300,000 to the winner.
When Robertson became champion of the world in 2010, he earned £250,000 for his troubles.
But the Saudis have stumped up half a million quid for this tournament, now in its second year, to rival the same fee for the current Crucible conqueror.
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Prize Money
Here’s a breakdown of how much money is on offer during the Saudi tournament…
Winner: £500,000
Runner-up: £200,000
Semi-final: £100,000
Quarter-final: £50,000
Last 16: £30,000
Last 32: £20,000
Last 48: £11,000
Last 80: £7,000
Last 112: £4,000
Last 144: £2,000
147 break: £50,000
Total: £2,302,000
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O’Sullivan, using a new cue for this season, will not be too disappointed by his performance in the Kingdom.
He will fly back to his new base in Dubai with £200,000 for being the finalist at this nine-day event, a £147,000 147 bonus plus an extra £33,333 for getting the event’s high break.
That is because on Friday evening he hit TWO 147s in the 6-3 semi-final win over fellow Englishman Chris Wakelin.
It was an incredible feat – it had only ever been done once before in professional snooker – and he has earned a whopping bonus off the World Snooker Tour.
Welshman Jackson Page hit two maximums in World Championship Qualifying in Sheffield, but O’Sullivan’s pair of clearances came in a best-of-11 frames match.
For Robertson, he gets to enjoy the glory of success as well as the cash.
Speaking after the victory, he said: “I cannot possibly explain in words what it means.
“To play Ronnie in a final of this magnitude when I was a kid in Australia, I could never have dreamt of that.
“The way he came back, my God, being in this arena was the last place I wanted to be.
“It was incredible. The frame he won to go 8-8, the brown was absolutely incredible. He was unlucky in the last frame.
“If he lands on the ball at 9-8, it’s all over. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to share this stage with him.
“It’s not about winning and losing, it’s about me doing my best and putting on a great match for everyone. The crowd got their money’s worth these last two years.
“I think this surpasses the World Championship win. I have had to answer a lot of questions.
“Can I beat someone like Ronnie in a final of this magnitude? To beat him with so much on the line, it’s definitely my best win.”
While O’Sullivan said: “Neil deserved his victory. He was the better player. I tried to hang up to him, make a game of it.
“I was pleased I did that tonight. At 6-2 down, he outplayed me. At 7-2 it looked like it was an early night.
“I’m pleased to take it a little bit longer. Neil played the best snooker all week.
“I came here and would have been happy to win a couple of matches. So, to get to the final, I’m very, very happy. You cannot be too greedy. I am disappointed I didn’t win.”
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