Robertson Storms To Beijing Victory
Neil Robertson claimed his second XingPai China Open title by defeating Jack Lisowski 11-4 in the final in Beijing.
The victory marks the 16th ranking title of Robertson’s career and moves him clear of Mark Selby to occupy sixth position alone in the all-time ranking event winner’s list.
The Australian picks up £225,000 for his win and that sees him boosted from seventh to fourth position in the world rankings. That means he will now be in the top half of the draw for this month’s World Championship. His total prize-money for the season has now passed the £500,000 mark.
Robertson will head to the Crucible in a red hot streak of form, having now appeared in four consecutive ranking finals. He won the Welsh Open and was runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Players Championship and the Tour Championship. It’s the first time Robertson has won three ranking titles in a single season, having also won the Riga Masters earlier in the campaign.
Lisowski will be disappointed not to have picked up a maiden ranking title. However, he has the consolation of the £90,000 runner-up prize, which is the biggest payday of his career. The Englishman’s performance this week has confirmed his place in the top 16 for the World Championship and he will now compete at the Crucible as a seed for the first time.
Robertson had established a dominant position after the opening session today, moving 8-2 in front after the first ten frames.
When they came out this evening, he immediately moved to the verge of victory with runs of 91 and 50 to go 10-2 up. Lisowski refused to fall away and claimed two on the bounce to provide some resistance and take the match to the mid-session interval.
However, Robertson quickly snuffed out any comeback hopes for Lisowski, with a break of 79 to seal the 11-4 victory.
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