Robertson survives Wu comeback to win English Open

Neil Robertson won the World Snooker Championship in 2010

Neil Robertson has won the English Open title for a second time by beating China's Wu Yize in a thrilling final.

Australian Robertson raced into a 7-1 lead at the interval in the best-of-17-frame match in Brentwood, Essex.

Wu shifted the momentum when they returned to the table, winning six of the following seven frames to force his way back into contention at 8-7.

But Robertson, who also won the 2021 edition, recovered just in time to win 9-7.

"It was nice to get in off a fluke - it was probably the only way I was going to pot a ball," Robertson told Eurosport.

"He completely froze me out. He played the best snooker I've ever seen in a five or six-frame period.

"You start thinking of potentially runner-up speeches and how humble you're going to have to be after being 8-2 in front."

Wu, 20, was featuring in his first ranking-event final and has enjoyed a dream 10 days at the Brentwood Centre, including beating world number one Judd Trump in the quarter-finals.

Higgins out of top 16 for first time in 29 years

Higgins had been in snooker's top 16 since 1995

Robertson's victory lifts him from 17 to 15 in the world rankings and means John Higgins drops out of the elite top 16 for the first time in 29 years.

The 49-year-old Scot, who became only the second player to hit 1,000 career centuries last week, goes down a place to 17.

Higgins could reclaim his spot in the top 16 with a good performance at the British Open this week.

The four-time world champion faces compatriot Ross Muir in the first round in Cheltenham on Monday.