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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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.
Most World Titles (modern era)
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.
