Neil Robertson held his nerve to fend off a scintillating Ronnie O'Sullivan fightback and win the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 10-9.
After O'Sullivan's two maximums in Friday's semi-final, the final itself had threatened to become something of a damp squib when Robertson took seven of the opening nine frames.
O'Sullivan though had other ideas, taking seven of the next eight to move into the lead, only for a Robertson century to send the match the distance.
O'Sullivan looked like he might complete a remarkable turnaround when ahead in the decider, but as in the previous frame fortune was not on his side when attempting to split the reds.
On both occasions Robertson stepped in with a counter-punch, the key pot in frame 19 a precise final red down the length of the table to the green pocket which set the stage for a gutsy clearance.
WHAT A WAY TO WIN IT ALL 🏆
— WST (@WeAreWST)
Nerves of steel from Neil Robertson to WIN the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 🏆
A break of 87 was enough for Robertson to finally haul himself over the line and take a winner's cheque of £500,000.
"This surpasses winning the World Championship," said Robertson, who won twice as much prize money for landing this title than he did at the Crucible in 2010.
"I have had to answer a lot of questions like whether I can still beat someone like Ronnie in a final of this magnitude. To beat him here with so much on the line, it's definitely my best win."
