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.