Neil Robertson fires up appreciative Hong Kong crowd as Ronnie O’Sullivan plans a bonfire of his own after Masters final
Australian praises crowd at Queen Elizabeth Stadium as beaten finalist Ronnie O’Sullivan threatens to set his cue on fire when he gets home
It could have been very different for 2017 Hong Kong Masters champion Neil Robertson. After apologetically defeating the territory’s favourite son, Marco Fu Ka-chun, in the semi-finals he could have found himself up against not only arguably the best player of all time and a perennial crowd favourite in Ronnie O’Sullivan, but perhaps a hostile audience after dismissing the home-town hero in front of a sell-out crowd at Queen Elizabeth Stadium earlier in the week.
Instead, the champion said his 6-3 win in Hong Kong ranked as the best of his career and lauded the home crowd for their appreciation of good snooker as well as their good behaviour.
“It had the best eight players in the world and my draw was incredible – I had Mark Selby in the quarters, Marco Fu in the semis and Ronnie in the final,” said the Australian.
“It doesn’t get any harder than that and that’s what makes it even more special. To do it in front of 3,000 people in that arena – it’s the best playing experience I’ve ever had in my career.
“For me it beats [world championship venue] The Crucible, it beats the Masters, it beats the UK [Championship] ... how enthusiastic the crowd was – every shot ... I’ve never experienced anything like it, and on top of that the crowd behaved themselves really well, too.”