Robertson seals Welsh Open joy despite failing to hit heights

NEIL Robertson claimed the Welsh Open title for a second time after a gruelling 9-7 victory over Stuart Bingham in Cardiff.

Both former world champions were struggling to find their best form and there were a number of long scrappy frames along the way.

There was only one century hit, but Robertson (below) will not care as he pockets the £70,000 top prize.

The final frame was a rare bit of fluency in the contest as ‘The Thunder from Down Under’ sunk a long red and made 83 — his highest break of the match — to claim the title.

The afternoon session saw Bingham make a number of incredible errors as he struggled to find any of the fine form that had brought him to the final.

Robertson was not doing anything out of the ordinary, but he was capitalising on the poor misses that the Essex man was producing.

Robertson said: “It was an amazing end to the match, I felt we both didn’t play as well as we had done getting to the final.

“I think Stuart was the better player, he just missed a few easy balls, I thought his safety game was incredible.

“When the opportunity came I had to go for it and go for the match.

“I can’t believe the way I won because I had a chance to go 8-4 and it would have been heart-breaking to lose from there.”