Former snooker world champion FORFEITS chance at £175k jackpot after forgetting what day it was in embarrassing blunder
NEIL ROBERTSON ended up forfeiting a chance to win a whopping £175,000 prize – by forgetting what day it was.
The former world champion was set to take on Michael Holt in a 2025 World Open qualifier at Ponds Forge in Sheffield during the festive period.
Snooker fans were left stunned when a 5-0 win for Holt appeared on results pages without so much as an explanation as to what happened in the scheduled December dust-up.
But Holt, who was bedridden a few days before the scheduled match, has finally revealed what happened in the qualifier – which he almost withdrew from.
He explained on Instagram: “It’s ten to seven, I’m in the office waiting to play and Gary Wilkinson’s [tournament official] phone rang.
“He picked his phone up and looked at me and went [Holt puts his thumb up].
“Basically, Neil forgot what day it was, he got the wrong date, which is a massive stroke of luck for me which meant.
“I got a bye. So I’m going to China at the end of February.
“So yeah, that’s a massive bit of luck I had.”
Aussie cueist Robertson has yet to comment on his costly failure to make the qualifier.
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List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
But he’ll no doubt be kicking himself for forgetting what day it was, which happens to many a person during the festive period.
Robertson, of course, reached the semi-finals of the 2024 World Open, which he was dumped out of by Ding Junhui.
He pocketed a cool £32,500 for his efforts, which he’ll have to wait until 2026 to try improve on.