Neil Robertson welcomes the recent announcement that this season's World Grand Prix will be staged in Hong Kong in March.
The news continues the ongoing globalisation of the sport, with increased prizemoney and host venues with large capacities adding to the impression that the sport is heading in a positive direction.
"I played Ronnie in the semi-final there, had three centuries in a row and the crowd was going crazy," reflected Robertson after beating Graeme Dott 4-3 in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast."Everyone's been working hard behind the scenes to make it happen, they've increased the prizemoney and the ranking points available which is really a step in the right direction. Hong Kong should always have an event.
"When you're working hard and have got that day to day structure it's nice to get that reward early on in the season," said the 42-year-old. Robertson says he "enjoyed" his first-round NI Open victory over his Scottish opponent in what was a repeat of the 2010 World Championship final as "the standard of the snooker was really good".
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