November 21st 2024.
Neil Robertson has just secured a fantastic match against Judd Trump in York. The Australian snooker pro had to go through UK Championship qualifying to secure his spot, but was disappointed by the low turnout at the event in Leicester. It seems that only the top 16 players in the world were given a direct pass to York for the main stages, leaving the rest of the tour to battle it out in qualifying rounds.
Despite slipping outside the top 16, Robertson managed to beat Oliver Lines and Matthew Stevens to earn his place at the Barbican, where he will face off against Judd Trump in an exciting opening round clash. While he was thrilled to move on to the next stage, he couldn't help but express his disappointment at the lack of audience in Leicester. Despite the presence of some brilliant players, the crowd was sparse.
"It's always a bit of a shock to qualify for the Worlds, but I thought the set-up was really good. However, it's still not quite the same," Robertson shared. "Here, I was a bit disappointed with the attendance. I had expected a larger crowd, especially since it's the UK Championship. There were so many great matches and talented players on display, so I'm not sure why the turnout was so low. Qualifying for the World Championship was packed and felt like a real event, so this was a bit of a letdown. But I'm happy to have made it through."
The small arena in Leicester was far from full, even on Judgement Day. It seemed that Robertson didn't have the opportunity to play in front of many people on Thursday. However, with his upcoming match against Judd Trump, he is sure to have a larger audience at the renowned York venue.
"I predicted this match-up. I think World Snooker would love to see me play against Judd or Ronnie, so I fully expected this kind of draw," Robertson shared. He also confirmed that there was no funny business in the draw, saying, "No, it just always seems to happen like this. I remember when Ding drew Ronnie in the first round of the World Championship. There are just so many of these blockbuster games that seem to occur."
Robertson doesn't believe that there is any tampering with the draw, asserting, "The winners here are World Snooker, for sure." In his first match against Oliver Lines, Robertson had to go all the way to a decider to secure a 6-5 win. However, he had a much smoother evening against Matthew Stevens on Thursday, comfortably winning 6-2. "In my first match, I was down 5-4 and everything seemed to be going against me," Robertson said. "But today, I felt much more polished and I think I played a really good match overall."
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