Robertson makes history

Neil Robertson is the first player from Australia to win a ranking tournament after clinching a 9-5 victory over Jamie Cope in the Grand Prix final on Sunday night at the Exhibition and Conference Centre in Aberdeen.

The 'Melbourne Machine' lifted the silver trophy and received a cheque for £60,000. Robertson stormed 8-2 ahead and, despite temporarily losing his focus and seeing his lead reduced to 8-5, he finally edged over the finishing line.

A key point in the match came as early as the fourth frame when Cope missed a simple red leading 59-1 and his opponent made a brilliant clearance to go 3-1 ahead.

From that point, the intense pressure seemed to get the better of 21-year-old Cope, who had never previously been beyond the last 16 of a ranking tournament.

The Shotgun had played some outstanding snooker on his way to the final but misfired too often at the last hurdle.

He picked up the consolation of a cheque for £30,000 plus a bumper bonus of £24,000 for his 147 maximum break earlier in the tournament.

Robertson has been recognised for some time as a promising talent though it has taken several years for him to break into the highest echelon of the sport.

After turning professional in his late teens and travelling 12,000 miles to compete on the circuit in the UK, he struggled to make an impact.

Unable to make ends meet and missing his family, he came close to giving up snooker.

But Robertson's father convinced him to persevere. He won the 2003 World U-21 Championship. That victory gave him the belief he needed to go with his exceptional natural ability.

"Hopefully this is the start of many tournaments for me," Robertson told reporters.

"Hopefully a few younger players in Australia can start to play... Australia could produce quite a few good players, there's no doubt about that."

Robertson has stormed up the rankings from No.68 to No.13 in just two seasons and is now up to seventh on the provisional list. He had not previously been beyond the quarter-finals of a ranking event. But when he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 on Friday that barrier was broken and from that point he looked unstoppable.

Arguably the best long potter in the world, Robertson's other key strength is making pressure clearances and he has proved that on many occasions in Aberdeen.

World Snooker is hoping that his success could spark a wave of interest in snooker in Australia similar to that which Ding Junhui has led in China.