Neil Robertson is planning to revert to a traditional brass ferrule on his cue after being knocked out of the English Open in a major upset. The former world champion and Triple Crown winner was beaten 4-3 by Luo Zetao, ranked 117th in the world, in the opening round.
Two years after lifting the trophy, Robertson was eliminated by his Chinese opponent. As a result, he will lose £100,000 off his world ranking, a bitter blow to his hopes of challenging for top spot. He is currently one of five players closely bunched near the summit of the rankings.
Equipment issues blamed for defeat
Speaking after his surprise defeat, Robertson blamed the result on "equipment issues" and said he would be reverting to a brass ferrule moving forward. He was one of many players to switch to a titanium ferrule in recent years, with Ronnie O'Sullivan and several others having since changed back to traditional brass.
"Got a lot of equipment issues," Robertson told TNT Sports. "All season I've been struggling with different ferrules, different tips and I think that's the final straw really.
"Switching to the titanium ferrule which I have been persevering with for 18 months, I've got no control with tight control of the cue ball and various shots you've got to guess too much."
Following the pattern of top players
"Yeah, so we'll be going back to the brass ferrule. There's just too many things you miss out on. Like Ronnie's gone back to it, Judd's gone back to it, Selby's gone back to it, so there's a pattern there.
"I'll be going back to the brass ferrule and I'm sure you'll start seeing the best of me because, can't really play snooker like that."
Robertson's shock exit at the English Open came just days after he was dumped out of the British Open in the very first round, losing to Pang Junxu.
Aiming for a return to the top
Before facing Luo, Robertson underlined his desire to return to the top of the world rankings after a challenging period over the last couple of years.
"If you look at the last calendar year, I was number one for the entire last calendar year, which I think probably doesn't get talked about enough," said Robertson. "I think that's a huge feat in itself. I think when I went into that season, you know, a couple of years ago, I was predicted by November or December to be ranked in like the mid-forties."
"So to be able to turn that around and then within 18 months get to No. 2 in the world and to be in the hunt for No. 1 again, I think it's a great story. I think a lot of people should take heart from that when they have big ups and downs. It's always about how far you can bounce back and not how far you fall."
