Watch: Neil Robertson sees funny side of making 1,000th century in surreal scenes at International Championship as John Higgins survives major scare
Updated 01/10/2025 at 09:03 GMT+1
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Neil Robertson continued to cement his legacy as Australia's greatest player on Tuesday by becoming only the fourth man in history to produce 1,000 career centuries in a 6-1 win over Umut Dikme of Germany in qualifying for the International Championship. Robertson compiled 105 in the sixth frame to join Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Judd Trump as the only men to reach four figures.
Robertson hits 1000th century to join exclusive club
Video credit: TNT Sports
Neil Robertson became only the fourth member of snooker's celebrated 1,000 century club in qualifying for the International Championship in Sheffield on Tuesday.
The Saudi Arabia Masters champion joins Ronnie O'Sullivan (1,300), John Higgins (1,042) and Judd Trump (1,106) as the only men in the modern televised history of the sport to achieve the remarkable feat.
But unlike O'Sullivan, Trump and Higgins, who all produced the landmark moment before big crowds in ranking events, Robertson was left raising his hands aloft before what felt like one man and his dog behind closed doors at Ponds Forge.
After making 105 in the sixth frame of his 6-1 win over Germany's Umut Dikme, the Melburnian saw the funny side of the situation as he raised his hands aloft with one onlooker smiling in the front row amid surreal scenes.
It was all a bit different from the night when the 2010 world champion sat in his chair watching O'Sullivan become the first man to achieve the feat in the 2019 Players Championship final in Preston.
Ever the showman, O'Sullivan saved the best for last as he finished with a sparkling 134 in a 10-4 win over Robertson, who would wait another six years to join the snooker GOAT as part of a golden quartet.
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Robertson hits 1000th century to join exclusive club
Video credit: TNT Sports
O'Sullivan potted the final black to finish on 141, but was denied the highest break prize as the white went in off with his opponent laughing as he picked up ÂŁ5,000 as a consolation for a 140 earlier in the event.
Higgins would become the second man to reach the 1,000 mark at last year's English Open in Brentwood, before Trump joined him a week later at the British Open in Cheltenham.
Robertson also rolled in 87, 68 and 99 against Dikme, a late replacement for the injured Marco Fu, who produced 91 in the third frame to stave off the whitewash.
The world No. 3 will face Stan Moody or Ken Doherty in the last 64 of the event, which will be staged by the Chinese city of Nanjing between November 2-9, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
"It's a wonderful milestone, as it takes an incredibly long time to do. It takes decades to do," Robertson later said on his achievement.
He will be joined on the plane to China by fellow world champion John Higgins, who survived a major scare in edging past world No. 103 Liam Pullen 6-5.
Higgins, struggling for motivation after a summer vacation, had lost 5-3 to Pullen in the opening qualifier for next week's Xi'an Grand Prix at the outset of September and was almost subjected to another shock exit against the 20-year-old Yorkshire potter.
After leading 3-0 with breaks of 67 and 60, the four-time world champion lost five of the next six frames to trail 5-4, but steeled himself to dominate the final two frames in sealing his progress.
He will meet Jordan Brown or Oliver Lines at the finals venue.
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International Championship latest qualifying results
- John Higgins 6-5 Liam Pullen
- Xu Si 6-3 Sahil Nayyar
- Wang Yuchen 6-5 Robert Milkins
- Si Jiahui 6-3 Sunny Akani
- Yuan Sijun 6-2 Julien Leclercq
- Neil Robertson 6-1 Umut Dikme
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Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Xi’an Grand Prix, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
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