Neil Robertson has won the BetVictor Series bonus after Luca Brecel suffered defeat in the semi-finals of the Welsh Open on Saturday.
Robertson will receive the £150,000 jackpot prize for topping the rankings list based off the four events on the Home Nations series.
The Australian triumphed at the English Open in September to top the standings with that £100,000 champion’s cheque from Brentwood.
Robertson didn’t feature at the latter stages of any of the other three events, but he was still able to just about maintain his buffer to the chasing pack.
He reached the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open before making back-to-back appearances in the last 32 of the Scottish and Welsh Opens.
The most recent defeat to Tom Ford in Llandudno opened the door for others to make a last-gasp attempt to pinch the lucrative sum.
Northern Ireland Open champion Kyren Wilson was the best-placed contender, but the world number two exited proceedings in Wales a few hours after Robertson’s reverse in the same round.
That left Brecel as an unlikely last challenger, the Belgian Bullet requiring the title and the £100,000 cheque in Wales to usurp Robertson’s tally.
Brecel was looking strong when he led Mark Selby 3-2 in the last four but duly lost the concluding four frames to bow out of the running.
Selby faces Stephen Maguire in the Welsh Open final on Sunday, but neither player can catch Robertson’s Home Nations target of £124,000.
For Robertson, it’ll be another boost in confidence during a season in which he has reestablished himself as a top competitor.
The 43 year-old struggled badly for form across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, suffering a dramatic slide down the official world rankings as a result.
But victory at the English Open – his first in a ranking event for more than two years – helped steady the ship.
Robertson, who should feature in this term’s prestigious Tour Championship, will be looking for a strong finish to the season to firmly regain his spot among the elite top 16 of the rankings.
The Melbourne man becomes the fourth different winner of the BetVictor Series bonus.
Judd Trump has pocketed the reward a record three times, while John Higgins and Robert Milkins are other previous winners.
Featured photo credit: WST
Nice bonus for, effectively doubling his winners cheque for the English Open because he hasn’t done much else to “win” the bonus. Obviously, neither has anyone else this season.