Opinion: 'Rolls-Royce' Neil Robertson still has time to fall in love with the Crucible and win another world title

Professional snooker finally returns to Asia this week with the Hong Kong Masters, an elite tournament for eight players and the first staged in the region since 2019 before Covid played havoc with the calendar. Neil Robertson won the last staging of the Hong Kong event five years ago and has since racked up a succession of trophies thanks to his formidable attacking game and big match temperament.

Last season alone he won four titles, including the Masters amid a pulsating atmosphere at Alexandra Palace in London. Ad Here’s what Ronnie O’Sullivan, beaten by Robertson in that 2017 Hong Kong final, said of the Australian on Eurosport last year: British Open'I was so upset I couldn’t eat anything' – O'Sullivan conqueror reveals sad reason for weight loss27/09/2022 AT 08:45 “Everybody rates him as a fantastic player.

His CV is amazing and when he plays well, he plays very, very well. It’s a little surprising that he hasn’t won the World Championship more than once… I’m sure he’d like to win two or three and he’s capable of it.

He has that Rolls-Royce cue action that every snooker player envies.” Two questions, then: Why hasn’t Robertson won the world title again since his triumph in 2010? And does this undermine his status as a great of the sport? The 40-year-old has captured the UK Championship three times and the Masters twice. He currently has 23 ranking titles to his name, leaving him in a tie with Judd Trump for sixth place on the all-time list, and has won the Champion of Champions on two occasions.

The Tour Championship, the most elite event on the circuit featuring only the eight leading points earners of the season, has been won twice in four stagings by Robertson. He has, therefore, undoubtedly been one of the