Neil Robertson's brave run at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship has ended in defeat at the hands of Zhao Xintong.
The Australian snooker ace was beaten 5-2 by the Chinese superstar in the final on Friday.
It was Xintong's first tournament win since becoming world champion earlier in the year.
Zhao, who defeated Mark Williams in the Crucible final in May to become the first Chinese player to win the world title, produced back-to-back breaks of 131 and 134 to open up a 4-1 lead against world No.3 Robertson.
Robertson responded with a run of 91 to cut the deficit to 4-2, but Zhao sealed victory and the STG250,000 winner's ($A507,000) prize with a 57 in the next frame for his fourth career title.
The 28-year-old Chinese appears to have rediscovered his World Championship-winning form in Riyadh, having seen off Shaun Murphy in the last eight before beating Judd Trump in a thrilling semi-final.
"I feel so happy, it's amazing to win this title. I was nervous, but I just tried to concentrate on the table. It's my first time in Riyadh so I will have a lot of good memories here and I look forward to coming back," said Zhao.
"Lots of people from China were here, they gave me huge support and that was so important to me. My only target now is just to keep getting better."
Nicknamed the Thunder from Down Under, Robertson crushed world No.2 Kyren Wilson 4-0 and defending champion Mark Allen 4-1 en route to the final.
It's still proving to be a big year for Robertson, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his significant contribution to snooker and representing the country at the highest level.
with PA
