In the early morning of February 11, Beijing time, Australian player Neil Robertson defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Snooker Players Championship, shooting down the "Rockets" again in less than a month after the Masters in January and reaching the semi-finals of the tournament. After the match, O'Sullivan still had an 18-11 lead in the record between the two sides.
In the last ranking tournament, the German Masters, Robertson lost to Rich Wharton and returned to England for a period of isolation due to the new crown, and the 21-event ranking champion quickly found the game status after returning to the field. He beat Karen Wilson 6-4 in the first round and after winning the quarter-finals he will face the winner between John Higgins and Jimmy Robertson in the semi-finals.
Earlier this season, Robertson had already won a ranking title with a 9-8 victory over Higgins in the Final of the English Open. The 2010 world championship was not far from locking up the first eight of a single season in the Tour Championship, where he quickly took a 4-1 lead with 79, 52, 82 and 80 points, and eventually eliminated O'Sullivan to reach the final four 6-3.
"I remember getting a little bit of a lead over him (O'Sullivan) in the last few games and starting to get cautious and defensive, waiting for him to make a mistake. You can't do that, you have to keep a positive mindset and be an attacker. That's the style of play I want to play, and I think it puts pressure on him as well. ”
Robertson, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday, said: "You have to deal with the audience in the game against Ronnie, if you can't do it you can't be successful and win the championship every season, because on this road you will definitely play against Ronnie somewhere. It can be difficult for some players, even me. You'll definitely realize that the audience cheers him up when you make a mistake, which he's earned over the years, and you have to respect that. ”
"Jimmy (Robertson) would be the underdog side in the semi-finals if he could pass this level, but he would feel very good and think any result would be an added bonus. Although I also have enough experience against undesirable opponents. In this case, I am more familiar with the game against John (Higgins), and generally the odds are 550, depending on who plays well that day. ”