Neil Robertson blows Stuart Bingham away in World Grand Prix final

Neil Robertson whitewashed fellow former world champion Stuart Bingham 10-0 to win the World Grand Prix for the second time in Hong Kong.

Robertson won all eight frames in the opening session and wrapped up victory when play resumed to claim the 25th ranking title of his career and move ahead of Mark Selby in the all-time winner’s list.

The top prize also lifts Robertson from 19th to 11th in the world rankings and effectively secures his place as a seed in the World Championship at the Crucible.

Breaks of 87, 104, 71 and 59 gave Robertson a 4-0 lead and the left-hander stole the fifth and sixth frames as well before a break of 78 made it 7-0.

Bingham, who was appearing in his first ranking final in six years, looked set to finally get off the mark following a break of 63 in frame eight, only for Robertson to clear up with a 66 to win on the black.

Robertson duly completed the fourth ever whitewash in a two-session ranking final, the Australian having inflicted that fate on Zhou Yuelong in 2020 with a 9-0 win in the final of the European Masters.

“It is very rare to win by a whitewash in a final. It certainly wasn’t what I expected coming into the match today,” Robertson said.

“I started brilliantly in the first four frames and after that I was able to capitalise on some mistakes from Stuart. Going into tonight I wanted to do my best to win 10-0. I feel for Stuart, as he is a great guy and we get along well.”

After the match, Bingham revealed that he had received the sad news in between sessions that his uncle Ray had died.

Bingham said: “My wife told me when I went back to the hotel at 8-0 down. He’s been ill for a couple of weeks. We knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but it is obviously a sad day.

“What has happened this week has shown that it is a game of snooker and there are more important things in life. You have to take the rough with the smooth.”