THE WORLD TURNS FOR ROBERTSON (original) (raw)

Many congratulations to Neil Robertson for winning the Betfred.com World Championship.

Neil is a nice guy, a great player and will be a terrific world champion for snooker.

His Crucible tussle with Graeme Dott was not, in terms of standard, of the finest vintage. Both players looked drained after a long tournament and their concentration wandered as the pace of play slowed down.

But this should not detract from Robertson's achievement.

Some snooker players don't like travelling abroad to play in events.

Neil has had to move to the other side of the world to pursue his profession. It was very hard to walk out on his family and friends in Melbourne and spend nine months of the year away from them, which is why it was a heartwarming moment to see his mother, Amanda, embrace him in the arena after the final.

Credit too must go to Dott for the way he has turned things around. Just two years ago he didn't want to play. Now he has figured in a third world final and will be back in the top 16.

The scheduling didn't help matters and is one of a number of issues snooker needs to address after a thrilling tournament that nevertheless ended on a sour note with the John Higgins story.

But nothing should take away from the glory of Robertson's moment: he worked for it, he earned it and he should enjoy it.