• World Championship

Robertson relishes 'perfect' moment

World Championship Gallery

Neil Robertson hailed his "perfect" day after becoming the first Australian in 60 years and first non-Briton in 30 years to claim the World Snooker Championship thanks to his triumph over Scotland's Graeme Dott at the Crucible in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

In a scrappy match decided by Robertson's superior ability to overcome nerves and fatigue, the 'Thunder from Down Under' ground out a deserved 18-13 win in front of a patient audience that included his weary mother Alison, who had travelled from Australia and slept just two hours before attending the final session. With Robertson's Norwegian girlfriend Mille due to give birth in Oslo, the stars have certainly aligned for the 28-year-old.

"It's absolutely incredible. I seriously can't believe it because in my last 16 match I was 11-5 down to Martin Gould. The next minute after my match against Ally Carter I was really disappointed I couldn't have any family coming over for the final with Australia being 24 hours flight away.

"But then I got a voicemail from my mum saying she had got a flight when I was 15-9 in front against Ally so it was quite lucky I finished the job off. This is absolutely perfect what's going on in my life right now."

Robertson arrived in England to make a go of a professional career in the sport as a teenager without a possession to his name, making the surf-haired crowd favourite a likable world champion. He said he hoped his new status would give snooker a boost in his native Australia.

"I had three goes at (joining the circuit) and I didn't do any good. There's no way in the world any of the guys who had beaten me would have thought I could do what I've done, but I kept persisting with it. I came over to Cambridge with 500 quid in my pocket and I had to borrow a waistcoat off another Australian player. I guess I can afford a few waistcoats of my own now.

"Australians love world champions it would have been a big blow if I'd lost in the final, I had all those sorts of pressures to deal with as well. Hopefully this can start something special and we can start to get events out there now."

Dott said Robertson was a deserved winner given his own poor showing but that he was satisfied with his tournament, which marked his return to the top 16 after spending a tough couple of years dealing with depression.

"Neil thoroughly deserved to beat me," Dott said. "I thought he by far and away played better than I did. How I got 13 frames I don't know.

"I've played really well. Obviously I'm disappointed to lose the final and not really perform. I needed to make the semi-finals to get back in the top 16 and I've done that and played really well so hopefully I'll be back next year."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.