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Australia’s Neil Robertson on his way to victory against England’s Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Hong Kong Masters final. Photos: David Wong

Best atmosphere in the world: Neil Robertson praises Hong Kong crowd as he lifts Masters snooker title

Former world champion from Australia defeats “Rocket” Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-3 in the final as he takes home HK$1 million prize money at QE Stadium

Australia’s Neil Robertson stopped “The Rocket” in his tracks as he won the Hong Kong Masters, picking up a hefty cheque following his 6-3 victory against Englishman Ronnie O’Sullivan on Sunday night.

Robertson, who knocked out Hong Kong’s Marco Fu Ka-chun in Saturday’s semi-final, was in unstoppable form in a match featuring two former world champions. The Australian earned a standing ovation from the sell-out crowd at Queen Elizabeth Stadium, which he complimented as “the best in the world”. Robertson picked up £100,000 (HK$1 million) for his match-winning performance.

Pumping his fist after winning the ninth frame 82-8 to complete a 6-3 victory in the best-of-11 frame final, the 35-year-old Melbourne native and 2010 world champion was delighted with his victory.

“I played in world finals, UK finals, Master finals, but nothing compares to the atmosphere tonight,” said Robertson.

Ronnie O’Sullivan compiled a break of 143 in the fifth frame but wasn’t able to maintain the momentum against Neil Robertson.

“The crowd has been wonderful all week. I had to play against two crowd favourites in Marco Fu and Ronnie O’Sullivan but this crowd is warm to when the other guy plays good snooker, too. It’s nice to play so well in such a wonderful tournament and especially with this kind of set-up tonight.”

O’Sullivan looked highly impressive in the early stages – his 143 break in the fifth frame was the highest of the tournament. The five-time world champion tied things up at 2-2 after winning it on the re-spotted black, but despite his brilliant 143 clearance in the next frame, it was Robertson who stole the show in the end.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: best in the world, says robertson after masters win
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