'He lacks that killer instinct' - Ronnie O'Sullivan claims 'nice guy' Neil Robertson needs 'nastiness'

Updated 17/10/2022 at 14:19 GMT

Neil Robertson became a world champion back in 2010, but Ronnie O'Sullivan believes the Australian should have won more big tournaments. The Rocket explained on Eurosport's coverage of the Northern Ireland Open that Robertson does not quite possess the "nastiness" or the "killer instinct" to mix it with opponents sometimes, comparing him to the likes of Mark Selby.

'He lacks that killer instinct' - O'Sullivan on 'nice' Robertson

Ronnie O'Sullivan has told Eurosport that Neil Robertson, one of his top rivals on the World Snooker Tour, "lacks that bit of killer instinct" and could do with a bit more "nastiness".

The Rocket was in the studio during the afternoon action of the Northern Ireland Open with Robertson taking on Fan Zhengyi in the second round of the tournament.

O'Sullivan, who has huge respect for Robertson and his attractive brand of snooker, believes the Australian could be even more dangerous if he was a bit less of a "nice guy" at times during key matches.

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"He is very consistent and with that cue action, not a lot can go wrong with it," O'Sullivan said in the studio alongside fellow legend Jimmy White.

"I'm surprised he has not won more, really, with that type of cue action that he has got.

"I just think maybe he lacks that bit of killer instinct, that nastiness. He is such a nice guy, like Barry Hawkins.

"It is hard to be good at everything. With that type of cue action, he is just used to dominating the table.

"Other players are not used to dominating the table so they make up for it by winning scrappy frames, so it is very hard to be good at everything.

"What he lacks is when the game is perhaps not going smoothly, how do you think your way around the table? I think that is where I have been able to catch him."

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O'Sullivan compared Robertson to another top player in Mark Selby, who he said was more keen to get into the less attractive side of the game in order to "out-fox" his opponents.

"A few balls get missed and then I'm like 'okay, we are in a dog fight - are you up for a dog fight?' Maybe he is not that type of player, he just likes everything nice," he said.

"Sometimes you have got to be able to think on your feet out there and adapt.

"So I think if there is one criticism - and it is not really a criticism - it is that he has not got, like Selby, the style to out-fox you and trap you and do things like that. I just don't think Robertson thinks like that; he does not want to think like that."

White agreed with O'Sullivan: "He just likes to knock a long red in and clear off! But there is more to the game than that."

Robertson battled past Fan to reach the third round in Belfast.

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Stream the Northern Ireland Open and more top snooker action live on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk

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