‘What an occasion!’ – Stars of snooker’s World Mixed Doubles react to historic tournament

The World Mixed Doubles burst onto the snooker calendar over the weekend as Neil Robertson and Mink Nutcharut lifted the trophies on Sunday night and all involved hope it will prove to be a significant event for women’s snooker.

World Snooker Tour brought the top four male players on the planet and partnered them with the top four female stars, to play the first mixed doubles event on TV since 1991.

It also saw snooker return to ITV1 for the first time since 2001, so this was great exposure for the women who are not often given the chance to shine in front of such a big audience.

By in large they took that chance, with some memorable moments of quality from the female players, most notably from Mink who produced a superb clearance of 74 in her team’s win over Judd Trump and Ng On Yee on Sunday afternoon.

Any four players ranked outside the world’s top 64 – as the four women are – could struggle to look at home alongside Trump, Robertson, Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan, but Mink, On Yee, Reanne Evans and Rebecca Kenna did not look out of place and hopefully inspired girls watching to pick up a cue, which was a key objective of the new event.

Robertson was certainly impressed by his partner, who he only met for the first time on Saturday, as she helped their team recover from losing their first two matches to scrape through to the final and then oust Selby and Kenna on Sunday evening.

‘In some ways, Mink carried us through to the final because of her performance in our last group match,’ said Robertson. ‘Then that filled me full of confidence tonight because I knew if I made a mistake then she could take her opportunities. I’m really proud of her and it’s an amazing feeling to win.

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