After the conclusion of another extraordinary snooker season, we pick 10 of our favourite shots from the 2021/22 campaign as captured by the Eurosport cameras. You can vote for your personal choice when we reveal our final list of contenders this month.
No. 7 – Robertson denies Williams with ice-cool green
The Masters
Top 10 shots of 2021/22: No. 8 – Williams in the pink with masterful one-handed escape
10/06/2022 AT 07:55
Robertson’s Masters semi-final with the evergreen Mark Williams was littered with magnificent breaks and shots, but none more so than the green ball he slotted in the death throes of a ferocious fight at an entranced Alexandra Palace in London.
The technically astute Melburnian recovered from 5-3 behind against the two-time Masters champion to level at 5-5 before chasing down the two snookers he needed in the final frame to somehow emerge victorious on the black.
Robertson enjoyed runs of 119, 102, 95, 83 and 52 with Williams compiling 91, 71, 67, 60, 60 and 59 in response, but a fraught contest came down to a battle of wits and will.
It was a duel that had to be seen to be believed. Williams missed a red to a centre pocket on a break of 44, only for the object ball to race down a side rail and into the yellow pocket.
‘Where’s this red going?’ – Williams’ incredible fluke against Robertson
He progressed to 67 and looked to be on the cusp of a first Masters final since 2003, but a tough cut back on the black agonisingly stuck in the jaws of the pocket.
If black had dropped, it was frame and match over, but that narrow miss prompted an astonishing Robertson uprising.
‘This is incredible snooker’ – Robertson beats Williams to reach Masters final
Failing to hit the final red off one cushion with black dangling in the pocket and a nervy attempt at a swerve shot around the green, complicated by several misses to pot the final red, aiming for yellow saw Williams concede a second foul. It left his fellow world champion needing all the colours for victory.
The yellow dropped with ease to leave Robertson a tough cut on green to a centre pocket.
He could have opted for a safety shot, but played a wonderfully controlled shot to roll in green, avoid flirting with any pockets and bounce the white off the top cushion as the return journey landed perfectly on brown.
The moment Neil Robertson won the Masters
“The green is one of the best pressure balls I’ve potted in my career,” said Robertson, who progressed to claim his second Masters title a decade after his first with a 10-4 win against Barry Hawkins a day later.
Maybe sometimes I would’ve been thinking about playing safe, but if you need two snookers and you’ve got the chance to go for it, you have to go for it.
“I did, and managed to hold myself together at the end.”
For Robertson, the end was nigh then high after a genuine Masters classic.
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Northern Ireland Open
Top 10 shots of 2021/22: No. 9 – Allen’s ‘toughest’ yellow in iconic Belfast 147
08/06/2022 AT 09:12
World Championship
Top 10 shots of 2021/22: No. 10 – O’Sullivan’s magical ‘cocked hat double’
06/06/2022 AT 12:10
Source: Euro Sports
