Neil Robertson looks on after giving away 55 penalty points against Jak Jones during the Welsh Open (Image: BBC)
Neil Robertson gave away an incredible 55 penalty points during his Welsh Open round of 16 match against Jak Jones. The Australian could not get out of a snooker no matter what he tried and committed numerous fouls, giving his opponent a huge advantage.
Robertson came close on several occasions to executing the perfect shot but kept hitting the black ball first despite having 10 red balls on the table during the early stages of the fourth frame.
BBC commentators Dominic Dale and John Parrott could hardly believe what they were seeing from Robertson. Dale said during their television coverage: “I’ve never seen anything quite like that before. Jak Jones has a 53-point lead, and there’s still ten reds on the table.”
Parrott simply said it was “bonkers” and, after another close call that they felt the former world champion got away with, claimed, “I’m just glad it’s over.” Robertson went on to give away four more penalty points in a separate incident, taking his tally to 59 for the frame.
The frame lasted the best part of 45 minutes, and despite all the penalty points, Robertson could’ve actually gone on to win but for a costly mistake. BBC commetator Parrott described it as ‘the greatest of robberies’ before Robertson threw the frame away.
Aside from all the penalty points, with Jones also giving away four, the frame also saw Robertson questioning his opponent for making a push shot. However, when Jones and the referee went over to review the footage, the Welshman was given the all-clear.
Dale summed it up by saying: “What an unbelievable frame of snooker. After all of that, Neil Robertson will be kicking himself … it’s Jak Jones who eventually is gonna take it, and I have never seen anything quite so remarkable, a frame all on its own; it had absolutely everything.”
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Robertson was left kicking himself after not overcoming all the penalty points given away (Image: Getty)
Before the resumption of frame five, Parrott said: “No more frames like that, please, lads. Unbelievable, wasn’t it? Never seen anything like it. Makes this wonderful game so dramatic.”
Dale later added: “I’m sure both of these players are glad of a little bit of a tactical exchange to take a bit of a mental breather after the travails of that previous frame, which was rather extraordinary.”
There were no repeats of that mammoth fourth frame, with Robertson playing excellently after two brilliant opening shots to retake the lead and move within one more win of progression. Jones opened with a 126 to take the early lead; however, Robertson responded with a 122 of his own, then took the third to move into the lead before Jones won the bizarre fourth frame.
The former Crucible finalist forced a deciding frame by winning the fifth, but Robertson prevailed in the final frame to take the win 4-3. Their decider went to the three-hour mark and rivalled the remarkable fourth, with the Australian advancing to face Barry Hawkins in the quarter-finals, who beat home favourite Mark Williams to reach this stage.
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