In a twisted final, Neil Robertson won the 2021 FA Championship against John Higgins by a score of 9-8, which is for him the 21st-ranked title. In addition to the Steve Davis Cup, Robertson takes £70,000 in prize money and £30,000 for last challenger Higgins. £5,000 for the top break in the tournament will go to Barry Hawkins for 146 of his first-round match. This report is a co-production of Mullen and Lola.
Robertson’s advantage in the afternoon in the England Open final
In the first half of the afternoon session, Neil Robertson put in two tires before John Higgins got a slightly better roll and tied it 2-2. After the break, Robertson advanced at 140 at 3-2. The two share the sixth and seventh tires, which are marked by safety. Higgins opened the eighth frame with a great red, only to shoot blue from the point. With a score of 123, Robertson grabbed the last frame of the session to make it 5-3. Actually, that was a good break.
In fact. You can add that in the article. 😬
– Lula Witzescher (@LulaWitzescher) November 7, 2021
Higgins With a lightning start, Robertson finds self-confidence in time
At the start of the evening session, John Higgins managed to win the first two frames and tied at 5-5. In the next frame he made a break of 62. Robertson really needed a game of snooker. Then a potential turning point appeared. After a weak safety from Higgins, Robertson punched the red and pink of Snooker on his yellow opponent. In fact, John Higgins immediately mistook Yellow. Neil Robertson worked out the first opportunity in the subsequent safe duel. On the other hand, he decided to make a yellow hole, but wanted to play with good safety. This screwed him up, and Higgins finally got the Frame after all. In the twelfth frame, they both made some mistakes. Robertson seemed a little uneasy. Logically, John Higgins took the frame again at the end and went into the second half with a 7-5 lead.
After the break, Neil Robertson had a good chance of winning his first tire of the evening. Higgins got the next frame back for 8-6. As in the final in Belfast, only one frame separated him from the title. But then Neil Robertson found his self-confidence again. Two strong balls with strong nerves pushed him to the break and into the frame at the end. Neil Robertson took the next photo after a century of safety. So there must be another decision.
Neil Nervous wins the course
The strong red wasn’t enough. In The Decider, John Higgins was nervous at first. He got some rest with a great newbie. Shortly thereafter, he punched a red from a steep angle in the middle pocket after losing his position. But then John Higgins lost his perfect position again, but missed a difficult third in the red. Neil Robertson punched a long red and then never let John Higgins sit back. In the end, his 65-point break secured the frame, the match, and the title.
What an ending. With many twists and turns, ups and downs of the players. MSI did more than good for Robo and in the end he deservedly won. I’m so sorry John..#147sf
– JaneOh (@JaneOh0711) November 7, 2021
John Higgins was very disappointed in the interview after another narrow defeat in the final. However, he was full of words of praise for his opponent. Neil Robertson was happy to find the best snooker at the end of the match. His son Alexander encouraged him that he had what it took, but replied that it was not so easy against John Higgins. Here you can read two original short quotes from the finalists:
John Higgins: The last two finals showed that I didn’t really get it at that level. Neil is an incredible hero. One of the best ever. It was a great final to be in.
TalkingSnooker November 7, 2021
Neil Robertson: John is someone I loved when I was a kid. I only dreamed of meeting him, being here and sharing a table with him is incredible. I just had to dig in, John got out all guns burning tonight. I found something from somewhere.
TalkingSnooker November 7, 2021
The road to becoming an English champion is open
There are certainly some snooker fans who would have liked another crying victory from Mark King. He was in the semi-finals against Neil Robertson, having played a lot of Rumplesnocker until then, with his own 4-2 lead. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep the growing Robertson off his neck. This won the next four tires with the final score 6-4.
John Higgins had triumphed in a tense and exciting semi-final after only a 3-5 deficit in the deciding match against Ronnie O’Sullivan. Despite three centuries and a string of more than 50 breaks, it wasn’t just high quality fireworks, but ultimately a triumph that worked with many mistakes on both sides. While in the lead, O’Sullivan had the perfect chance to win, but luck wasn’t on his side in some situations. So Higgins was able to force the decision maker, who decided the colors himself.
You can find all results on our tournament page in overview.
The participants in the champion of champions have been determined
Defending champion Mark Allen withdrew from the Champions League for personal reasons. With both Higgins and Robertson already qualified for the tournament, Stuart Bingham was already the 16th semi-finalist. With a few winners of different tournaments in the past twelve months, Stuart Bingham is the fourth player to top the rankings. The The full list of players can be found here. The game plan will be drawn by lot tomorrow, Monday.
If you’ve always wanted to know what Neil Robertson has in the bookmark box, You can have a look here.
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