Neil Robertson: '128-player events are like Shawshank Redemption, you must crawl through crap'
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Updated 23/11/2017 at 07:32 GMT
Neil Robertson breezed through to the last 32 of the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast before comparing the format of the 128-man event to the classic Stephen King movie The Shawshank Redemption.
Neil Robertson plays a shot at the Northern Ireland Open.
Image credit: Eurosport
The 2010 world champion continued his quest to secure a place at the Masters in January helped by breaks of 53 and 65 against Billy Joe Castle before lamenting the lack of practice facilities for the players at the Belfast Waterfront.
Robertson - who is 17 in the rankings outside of the top 16 invited to the Masters that starts on January 14 - needs to go deep into this tournament and next week's UK Championship in York to enhance his prospects of qualifying for a London event he won in 2012.
But he finds it difficult to hide his disdain for the nature of 128-man tournaments like the Northern Ireland Open at the Belfast Waterfront due to the lack of proper facilities at the venues with players turning into spectators due to a lack of tables.
The Melbournian compared it to the famous quote uttered by Morgan Freeman's character during the prison break when he explains: "Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of sh*t and came out clean on the other side."
It is garbage.You just have to battle through the mess. Like the Shawshank Redemption, you have to crawl through a lot of the crap to come out the other end a happy person. That is the reality of how it is at these kind of events.
"I couldn't book a practice table before this match. Which might explain why I'm a bit rusty-ish in the match.
"It is very frustrating because as soon as you finish you book a table before your next match.
"There was nothing available. I got seven or eight minutes in which is not ideal."
Robertson admitted he felt for fellow professional Tom Ford, who played half a dozen shots before being dismantled 4-0 by Mark Williams, scoring only 31 points in four frames.
Ali Carter was equally scathing about the lack of practice facilities, and said he was looking forward to participating at a "proper tournament" at next week's UK Championship in York.
"All the players are just waiting with the Chinese boys liking to put in the time," said Robertson, who will next face Robert Milkins for a place in the last 16. "That is something that needs looked at. Or maybe playing for only 10 minutes before you go on.
"Poor Tom Ford only had 10 minutes before he went on. He was standing there for about 20-odd minutes.
"Ali Carter was there for about 20 minutes watching. It is an unwritten rule that you do a shorter practice routine to let others play.
"I don't mind the best out of sevens. It is impossible to play the best of nines and expect the matches to finish on time.
"None of the top players like the 128 system at all. Everyone would prefer it how it used to be. It is what it is.
"I don't worry about it any more. I was really frustrated at the International Championship playing Robbie Williams a few weeks ago.
"I've come out to a row of six tables and it was like walking out to a ghost town. It is not professional snooker."
NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN LAST 64 RESULTS
- Mark King 4-1 Ashley Hugill
- Jamie Curtis-Barrett 0-4 Yan Bingtao
- Robert Milkins 4-1 Oliver Lines
- Yu De Lu 3-4 Nappon Saengkham
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-3 Chen Zifan
- Anthony McGill 4-1 Adam Duffy
- Mei Xi Wen 4-1 Alex Borg
- Elliot Slessor 4-2 Kurt Maflin
- Mark Williams 4-0 Tom Ford
- Neil Robertson 4-0 Billy Joe Castle
- Zhou Yuelong 1-4 Robin Hull
- Liam Highfield 4-1 Liang Wenbo
- Yuan Sijun 1-4 Lyu Haotian
- Zhang Yong 0-4 Li Yuan
- Ali Carter 1-4 Xiao Guodong
- Akani Songsermsawad 4-3 Wang Yuchen
- Tom Ford 0-4 Mark Williams
- Ricky Walden 4-2 Jack Lisowski
- Niu Zhuang 1-4 Ken Doherty
- Duane Jones 0-4 Ronnie O'Sullivan
- Mike Dunn 4-0 Matthew Stevens
- Ben Woollaston 2-4 Sam Craigie
- Michael Georgiou 2-4 Michael Holt
- Jimmy Robertson 4-3 Zhao Xintong
- Matthew Selt 0-4 Joe Perry
- Ryan Day 4-3 Li Hang
- Mark Allen 3-4 Tian Pengfei
- Fang Xiongman 1-4 Chris Wakelin
- Jimmy White 4-0 Jak Jones
- David Gilbert 4-2 Paul S Davison
- Ross Muir 4-2 Stuart Carrington
- John Higgins 4-1 Hossein Vafaei
- Stephen Maguire 0-4 Gary Wilson
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