Ronnie O’Sullivan showed his class to Neil Robertson and his family with a sporting reaction to a final defeat. The snooker greats have met numerous times on the table over the last two decades, with mutual respect between the pair high.

Their last big match came in August when the Australian edged the Rocket in a thrilling Saudi Arabia Masters final. In 2010, Robertson was also victorious in the final of the World Open in Glasgow, shortly after winning what remains his only World Championship. The Thunder from Down Under has fond memories of the match, not just for his triumph but for the magnanimous way in which O’Sullivan accepted defeat. He had said: “He’s world champion and world number one, and he dispatched me like world champions and number ones do.”

Given runner-up speeches aren’t easy, the Rocket’s class in defeat meant a great deal to Robertson and his family. He told the Metro: “Runner-up speeches are pretty tough, but I beat him in the final and he was so complimentary afterwards and I hadn’t actually lost a final yet, but I always remembered that actually made me feel really good.

“You’ve seen runner-up speeches in the past and they’ve just done everything possible to make sure that the winner feels terrible when they’re lifting the trophy. We can think of quite a few! 

“And I don’t think that’s right because whoever’s won the tournament, you can appreciate all the hard work and everything they’ve put in.

“The family’s watching as well, you need to factor that in. So when Ronnie had that speech, my mum, my dad and [wife] Mille were like, ‘Oh wow, Ronnie was so nice!’ It was good.”

After pulling out of the Masters for medical reasons on the eve of the tournament, O’Sullivan is due to play his first competitive snooker of 2026 at the German Masters on Tuesday. The Rocket plays world number 54 Long Zehuang at the Tempodrom venue in Berlin at 2pm UK time.

Robertson begins his campaign in the second round against Pang Junxu on Wednesday after receiving a first-round bye following the withdrawal of Chang Bingyu for visa reasons. The German Masters is one of the few tournaments the 43-year-old is still yet to win.

He said: “I think when you get down to that semi-final stage, the tournament becomes amazing. It is a wonderful venue. We have a few now that are a little bit different and this is one the players are desperate to get to.”