Robbo and Ronnie on fair dinkum collision course at world championship

The two best snooker players on the planet right now are Australian, and that might come as a surprise ahead of the world championships beginning in Sheffield this weekend.

There’s Neil Robertson, the affable, peroxide blond 37-year-old who proudly draped himself in an Australian flag when he won the 2010 title at the Crucible Theatre – something no Australian had done since Horace Lindrum in 1952.

On cue: Australia’s Neil Robertson will battle it out in this year’s World Snooker Championship. Credit:Imaginechina

He’s won three ranking titles this year and made four finals on the bounce. The last time someone achieved that was in 1990.

Robertson, known for his pinpoint long potting and captivating knack of building a big break, reckons he’s never been better placed to take out the sport’s biggest prize but knows he has to beat the "Tiger Woods of snooker".

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s birth certificate says he was born in Wordsley, England, but he has had a mid-life crisis of sorts and decided he wants to be an adopted Australian.

In post-match interviews, perhaps due to boredom, the world No.1 answers questions in a thick Aussie drawl with a dash of Cockney. The exuberant five-time world champion and favourite for the upcoming tournament gets a real kick out of it.

Sometimes O’Sullivan even uploads Instagram videos of himself performing questionable Crocodile Dundee impersonations for his 236,000 followers.

Why? Because Australians talk like winners, O'Sullivan says, despite not having been to a country blessed with "beaches that sound quite nice".

"The accent is shocking," Robertson told the Herald from the UK. "We get along really well. He said he’d been watching loads of Australian shows on Netflix and he says he loves Australia so much and our laid-back attitude. He’s a bit mad, obviously, but it’s all in good fun."

If we’re going to take a walk down Fair Dinkum Avenue, Robertson is a real chance of taking home his second world crown, which would earn him a cool £500,000 ($909,000).

"It’s definitely my best ever season and it’d be awesome to top it off with a really good result in the worlds," Robertson said. "I haven’t been complacent. Sometimes when I’ve won before I might have relaxed for the rest of the season, but I haven’t dropped off."

Australia’s greatest ever snooker player will square off against Michael Georgiou in his first match on Saturday (11:30pm AEST), knowing his game has improved "tenfold" since becoming the first person outside of the UK and Ireland to win a world title since Canada’s Cliff Thorburn in 1980.

Last year was a disaster for Robertson, who had issues with his cue tip and a poor preparation because the heaters on tables at the club he trains at weren’t working properly.

I have to appreciate how lucky I am.

Robertson was bundled out in the first round, but anyone who watched his recent victory at the China Open or fourth televised 147 (a maximum break in snooker) at the Welsh Open knows he is cueing the ball as well as ever.

The prospect of an ''all-Australian'' final between Robertson and O’Sullivan is a promoter’s dream given the pair have already squared off in two deciders this season.

Top of the table: Neil Robertson kisses his trophy after winning the final of the World Snooker Championship in 2010. Credit:PA

"I think I’m much better prepared," said Robertson, who fell short in both matches.

"When you play Ronnie in a final, it’s about 90 per cent crowd for him. That’s something you don’t experience very often in a season. People who don’t watch golf will watch Tiger Woods play. People who don’t usually watch snooker will tune in to watch Ronnie if he’s playing.

"It’s been a privilege to compete with him for so many years to play in big finals, and we’ve both won some. It’s been an unbelievable experience for me to come from Australia, not thinking I’d even be a professional, but to compete with guys like O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams in finals is incredible. I have to appreciate how lucky I am."

The story of Robertson’s climb to the top of world snooker has been told before.

Kid from Melbourne plays for Mars Bars and cans of Coca-Cola. Makes first 147 at age 17. Tries multiple times to crack it in the UK but fails. Swaps snooker cue for Centrelink queue but is embarrassed. Trains hard. Earns an opportunity. Wins a world title and a "triple crown". Overcomes video game addiction. Lives happily in Cambridge with wife Mille, son Alexander and one-month old daughter Penelope.

Snooker's evolution since Robertson began is more profound than one might think and not just in the form of prizemoney sky-rocketing.

"You can’t even compare players back then to now, it’s chalk and cheese," Robertson said. "The quality of player has never been higher. This year of snooker has been phenomenal. The top 16 in the world now could all have been No.1 easily in the 1980s.

"Everyone has improved and everyone has had to improve because the quality of the tour. The tour is full of younger, hungrier players. The experienced dead wood has fallen off the tour. Every match is really tough.

147: snooker’s magic numberCredit:Illustration: Jim Pavlidis.

"Technology has definitely helped too in terms of the cloth – it’s easier to move the balls around – and the quality of the balls is better, no doubt."

A diehard Chelsea supporter and cricket tragic at heart, Robertson hopes to catch up with fellow vegan mate Peter Siddle later this year during a few well-earned months off in a glorious UK summer.

Before that, there’s work to be done.

Robertson’s "snooker scientist" dad Ian is flying over for the tournament and will be hoping Neil can repeat his heroics of nine years ago and drape another Australian flag over his shoulders with a big, beaming grin.

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