Neil Robertson hopes to build on his victory in the Bahrain Snooker Championship by winning the Maplin UK Championship in Telford next month.
The Australian left-hander won the third ranking title of his career last Saturday by beating Matthew Stevens 9-7 in the final of the first world ranking tournament ever staged in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
And Robertson is now looking ahead to the Maplin UK Championship, which runs from December 13 to 21 at the Telford International Centre.
“I’ve lost in the first round at the UK for the last two years so I really want to have a good run in it this time,” said the 26-year-old, considered the best long potter in the world.
“It’s one of the biggest tournaments and I’m determined to win one of those before long. I really liked the venue at Telford last year so I was disappointed to lose to Joe Perry early on.
“I could play Stephen Maguire in the second round this time, if we both get through the first round. I beat him in the quarter-finals in Bahrain which was a very important win for me. He’d won the last six times we played so he had a hold on me, but I’ve shown him now that I can beat him and that will give me confidence for the next time we play.”
Robertson will be in Telford this Saturday for a promotional visit, and will be taking on competition winners and fans on a snooker table in the main concourse at Telford Shopping Centre from 12pm to 4pm.
These include Shropshire Star competition winners Jordan Bentley of Market Drayton, Martin Lewis of Shrewsbury and Phil Ryan of Shrewsbury
“It should be a great day and I’m looking forward to meeting some fans and finding out if any of them are good enough to beat me!” he added.
The Maplin UK Championship is set to feature all of snooker’s top players including defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Maguire, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Shaun Murphy.
Tickets start at just £10.50 (concessions £5).
To book seats call 01952 561 700 ot visit www.ticuk.com
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