Relentless Neil Robertson claims second China Open title
Robertson claims his third ranking title of the season (credit:Eurosport)
Neil Robertson claimed the China Open title for the second time after defeating Jack Lisowski 11-4 in the final in Beijing on Sunday.
The red hot Australian, appearing in his fourth consecutive final, denied Lisowski for the second time this season to clinch the penultimate ranking silverware of the campaign.
Robertson, who first claimed China Open glory in 2013, stormed into an 8-2 lead at the close of play in the first session and crushed any hopes of a miraculous Lisowski comeback to secure the £225,000 top prize.
The victory locks Robertson into the number four seeding for the upcoming Betfred World Championship and places him into the opposite half of the draw to title rivals Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby and Judd Trump.
Robertson took a firm grip on the contest from the outset and piled in breaks of 86, 141 and 100 in forging an 8-2 advantage heading into the evening session.
The 2010 World Champion then clinched back-to-back frames after the restart to move to the verge of victory, before Lisowski rallied with successive frames of his own to trail 10-4.
However, the 27-year-old was not able to make any further inroads as Robertson sealed the inevitable and lifted his sixteenth career ranking trophy.
Lisowski was bidding for his first ranking triumph after also losing out to Robertson in the Riga Masters final at the beginning of the season but once again fell narrowly short.