How Robertson moved on from red to black

Published on Monday 12 October 2009 22:56

NEW Grand Prix champion Neil Robertson arrived in this country six years ago almost £6,000 in debt and with just £500 in his pocket.

On Sunday night, the left- hander from Melbourne, Australia, walked out of Glasgow's Kelvin Hall clutching a cheque for 75,000 – the biggest payday of his career – and the title of the most successful player ever from outside the British Isles. Robertson, 27, comfortably beat Ding Junhui 9-4 to claim his second Grand Prix crown and fourth ranking tournament win.

That took him beyond Ding and James Wattana in the all-time list of overseas players, leading him to reflect on just how far he has come since turning professional 11 years ago. And it would be no exaggeration to say he was close to the brink before sheer talent and determination took him to the pinnacle of the game.

"I've had two goes, two failures," said Cambridge-based Robertson, whose first attempt to make it in the UK came after he turned professional at the age of 16. Homesick and struggling to make an impact on the circuit, Robertson returned to Australia before coming back and trying again. Another false dawn ensued, but as his debts began to multiply, he simply refused to give up.

"I was ten grand in debt back home with people that I owed money to who had funded my trips to world amateur events and stuff like that," said Robertson, who has climbed to a career-high third in the provisional world rankings.

"I came to Cambridge with 500 in my pocket and the only thing was just to survive so I had enough money to come back the next year. It's just amazing to come through all that because I haven't really had that much financial backing. It's great that there's the snooker academy and stuff like that now but back when I came to Cambridge, there wasn't any of that there.

"My family's helped me so much as well and it's an amazing feeling from having nothing to coming through all this."

Robertson has made huge sacrifices to get to where he is today and took a swipe at his British peers who complain about spending between one and two weeks away from home while on the circuit.

He said: "Some players moan, saying, 'Jeez, I don't like going there and playing'. You're only there for a week! When I come over to the UK, I've got to say, 'Right, mum and dad, all my best mates, I won't see you guys for another ten months. Take it easy'. That just adds extra enjoyment and satisfaction because I don't think there are many people who could go through what I've gone through."

One exception, according to Robertson, is Chinese player Ding, who took part on Sunday night in what was only the second final between two non-Britons in the game's 220 ranking tournaments.

"A lot of credit to him because he's coming to a completely different culture, a completely different language," Robertson said. "His English is coming along really well and I hope that he can build on this and start winning more tournaments as well."