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After another decade of winning the Masters, Robertson raised his three-time champion to six, and the 21-time ranking champion further elevated his all-time standing.
However, compared with O'Sullivan, Hendry, Davis, Higgins, Selby and Williams, the World Championship is Robertson's biggest shortcoming, and since reaching the summit of Crucible in 2010, the Australian has only experienced the semi-finals once. In the past three years, he has stopped in the quarterfinals under the condition of being widely optimistic.
Robertson is aware of this, becoming a multiple World Champion to qualify him for the top five in history. "Winning multiple world championships is the hardest."
It's not too late to become a three-time or four-time world champion (Robertson turns 40 in February). Look at Tom Brady (44-year-old NFL star, seven-time Super Bowl winner), who is inspiring. ”
"I love the numbers I played and I know it's another three-time winner, a second Masters. I also have three Masters and one World Championship. ”
"Now I have to be a world champion multiple times to be on par with several legends. I know I'm highly respected in the snooker space, but obviously you're going to have to win the world championship multiple times to qualify for the top four or five discussions in history. ”
Robertson was not a Crucible fanatic and did not like the cramped environment of the two-table stage in Crucible, but he knew he had to leave it behind. "I have to stop using the cramped grounds as an excuse. I was always a little too stubborn when I came to the World Championships, and I didn't have enough right people around me. ”
"It's great to win a race on your own, and you're a mentor and psychologist for yourself. But the World Championships are different, you need to have a good team around you, because the World Championships have many stages. ”
In the Masters, Robertson eliminated O'Sullivan in the quarterfinals, who held 20 three-time titles, including six World Championships. O'Sullivan said: "Everyone wants to win [the three competitions], and it is also a yardstick to measure you. In golf and tennis, they have their Grand Slam tournaments, and that's a pivotal moment in the sport. That's what the big game is all about, it's played in big scenes.
"It's certainly good to do well in games with a slightly less atmospheric atmosphere, but these supreme events are the ultimate test of willpower, determination, ability, skill and everything else, and it will test everything about you. This is your chance to improve your resume and gain prestige in the sport you play. ”
1991 World Championship champion Palot had a similar view: "Robertson was an amazing player, one of the greatest players. But he will think about changing the current World Championship report card. Saying he's only won the World Championships once sounds a little rude. But he had enough ability to win more than one. ”
Six-time world champion Davis said: "Although Robertson's resume in the three majors is not as good as O'Sullivan, Williams and Higgins, his ability is comparable to theirs. ”
"He is a very strong player, similar to the British Championship champion Zhao Xintong, he is a strong contender for the World Championships. Maybe his performance at the World Championships was lower than expected, but it proves that there are a lot of good players in the current snooker field. ”
Whether Robertson can win more world championships in the future is doubtful, but his current achievements are enough to make him an important place in snooker history. O'Sullivan said: "He was fully committed to snooker, he loved snooker, even when he fell out of his profession and was penniless, he would say' I would come back and try again.' ”
"It's the tenacity and conviction in his ability, and he definitely knows he can play better than he is now."
"He's always had a great shot and he always scored a lot of goals. He definitely knew that he could score anything on the table, and only needed to learn to be safe and to walk. ”
"He's not going to go any further than he is now, but if you're already very good, you don't need to get better."
"All you need is to maintain and play to the capabilities that you have in the moment. The worst thing is to try and improve, all you need is to find the ideal rhythm, arrange the schedule, choose some games to play. ”
Robertson will appear in the first round of the German Masters at 3 a.m. Beijing time on January 27, against Wharton.