The World Grand Prix is in the books with Neil Robertson ending the week victorious. It was a timely reminder of just how good the Australian is, and with the World Championships now rapidly starting to come into view the Aussie has ensured that he will be one of the seeded players by the time that the draw is made.
Let’s look back at what we learnt from a great week down in Hong Kong.
Robertson emerges as a real threat for the World Championship
The first ever World Champion to hail from outside of the UK, Neil Robertson has led the way when it comes to treading new ground and it's great to see the former world number one return to the top of the game.
It’s been a whirlwind of the year for Robertson, having lost in qualifying at the 2024 World Championships, it looked like he may have been a spent force when it came to winning the biggest titles, but Robertson has flipped that script dramatically on its head.
The first shoots of recovery came at the English Open when Robertson beat Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins and Chris Wakelin to land the title. With that victory taking him to the edge of the top 16 in the world rankings, Robertson still had work to do when it came to ensuring that he would be an automatic seed for this year’s World Championships, that work is now done.
Starting the week as he meant to go on, Robertson had far too much for Sijun Yuan in the opening round of the tournament, whitewashing his Chinese opponent 4-0.
From there Robertson would thrash David Gilbert and would battle hard to advance past Guodong Xiao to reach the semifinals.
In the semis, Robertson would face off against old rival, Shaun Murphy and in a match that ebbed and flowed, it looked like the Masters Champion would advance as he led 5-3 and needed just one frame to seal the victory.
However, Robertson has always prided himself on being a gritty match player and wouldn’t go down without a fight. Managing to restore parity at 5-5, it was the Aussie who got the better of things in the final frame to advance to the final.
In the final he would face off against Stuart Bingham who would have been full of confidence after ousting Judd Trump in the semis. With many expecting a close encounter, few would believe what they were about to witness.
With eight frames to play for in the final’s first session, Robertson would play some of the best snooker of his career and would go onto win all eight of them.
Heading into the afternoon session in a commanding position, he continued his dominance to win the first two frames and wrap up the match 10-0. Robertson’s stylish play, matched with his ability to focus and not let up bodes exceptionally well for the future.
His game couldn’t be in a better position and boosted by the £180,000 first place prize he was able to secure, nobody will want to play him by the time that the World Championship draw is made.
A wait for a first title of 2025 goes on for Judd Trump
Having conquered all before him through the majority of 2024, Judd Trump would have been confident that 2025 would be much of the same, however so far it’s been a year of frustration for the world number one.
A beaten semifinalist at the Masters, he has made early exits at the German Masters and World Open and with the draw opening up, he would have left the World Grand Prix exceptionally disappointed that he wasn’t able to secure his first title of the season.
Having benefited from a great draw and the withdrawal of Jack Lisowki in his second round, Trump headed into his semifinal against Stuart Bingham fresh, but he struggled to get going against the wily veteran.
Getting off to the slowest of starts, Trump quickly found himself with a deficit to make up at 3-1. Showing uncharacteristic signs of nerves, rather than mount a fight back, Trump could only watch on as Bingham cruised into a 5-1 lead and the brink of victory.
Trump would be able to muster a fight back but it would end up being a case of too little too late as Bingham would eventually take his chance and close out the match 6-3.
Trump is on the brink of a funny career. On track to end his playing days as the player who has won the most ranking titles and prize money, he needs to make ground on the greats of the game when it comes to World Championship success.
With just one World Championship to his name, the pressure is on for Trump to deliver when it matters most, but as it stands him going on a deep run at the Crucible doesn’t look like a guarantee.
In order to make sure he isn’t an early casualty he will need to find much better fluency and time is beginning to run out.
Big guns left scratching their heads following conclusion of World Grand Prix
Not for the first time this season the World Grand Prix had a wide open feel to it due to many big seeds falling early.
Frustratingly for everybody who loves the game, Ronnie O’Sullivan continues to be absent and could potentially miss the World Championships, but for those who will definitely be at the Crucible some form will need to be found quickly.
One player who desperately needs some wins is Mark Allen. Coming into 2025 ranked in the top five in the world rankings, Allen started his year well with a run to the semis of the Masters, but since then has really struggled.
A second round exit at both the German Masters and Welsh Open have been paired with first round defeats at the World Open and World Grand Prix. He is horribly out of form and whilst Allen is not shy with his own self confidence he will want to quickly gain some confidence ahead of the World Championships which he is trying to win for the first time.
Mark Williams is another who has barely been able to win a match this year. Williams by his own admission isn’t practicing anywhere near as much as he should and that’s understandable given where he is at in his career.
Able to turn it on almost seamlessly, Williams won’t be worried about where his game is currently at but he has only won one match all year and will be desperate to change that when he next plays at the Players Championship.
Jonathan Ashby
Jonathan Ashby, at 35, boasts a deep well of knowledge about the world of snooker. A specialist with a passion for the game's history, techniques, and players, he provides invaluable insights to both novices and seasoned enthusiasts. Through his articles, Jonathan aims to share the rich tapestry and nuances of this beloved cue sport.
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