PTC Grand Finals - Day 5

Stephen Lee secured the PTC Grand Finals title by
whitewashing Neil Robertson 4-0 (picture Press Association)

In-form Stephen Lee won his first World Ranking title since his Welsh Open victory in 2006 after a 4-0 drubbing of Neil Robertson in Sunday’s PTC grand Finals. Lee, who has excelled in recent weeks having reached the semi-finals of both the German Masters and Welsh Open, and runner up at last week’s World Open went one better after cruising past the current Masters champion. Perhaps the most crucial frame of the match was a gritty first frame which Lee edged. A safety error allowed Lee to pot the green and clear up in a frame that lasted 47 minutes. The man from Trowbridge took the next two frames to give him a commanding lead and he thought he had secured the match in the fourth frame after potting match ball but the cue ball trickled the length of the table into the bottom right hand pocket to give Robertson a reprieve. The Aussie cleared up the remaining points to force a re-spotted black but a safety error from him left the simplest of pots into the middle pocket for Lee to secure the £70,000 prize.

Earlier in the day, Lee had beaten Andrew Higginson to book his place in the final. Lee had taken the open frame before Higginson drew level only for him to fall 2-1 behind. A 104 break from Andrew made it 2-2 but Lee was ahead again after a 102 break and he rounded off the match by taking the sixth frame. In the other semi-final Robertson dished out a 4-0 drubbing of his own over a struggling Stephen Maguire. Breaks of 110, 45 and 84 put him 3-0 up before securing the win after Maguire missed in the fourth frame.