star Jimmy Robertson has spoken out after his controversial exit from the . The 38-year-old blasted his opponent Matthew Selt following his 10-9 defeat, throwing their off-table friendship into jeopardy.
Robertson cruised into a 9-6 lead over his childhood friend and looked destined to qualify to compete in the main event later this week. However, he quickly began to lose his cool and the game headed to a deciding leg.
Selt then completed a remarkable comeback to set up a first-round tie against Xiao Guodong later this week. However, it soon became clear that the gloss had been taken off of the victory with how both players responded to the result.
Selt went on to reveal that , for which he publicly apologised about before going on to speak about being unsure how he had done so.
Robertson has now hit back at the confusion though, calling for his rival - who he has been friends with since he was a child - to tell the 'whole story'. He explained to the Metro: "Been mates with Matt for over 25 years. Very disappointed in him is all I want to say.
"I've heard everything [he said] through people calling me. All I will say is ask Matt again to say the full story and not half."
During Selt's post-match interview with the , he admitted that his commentary of his own shots may have been a cause of Robertson's frustrations. He said: "I do what I do all the time, commentate on my shots. If a ball is going towards the hole, which it did on numerous occasions in this match, I'd say 'Oh there's another one.'
"I never said anything after the balls came to rest, not deliberately trying to put him off. I show my emotions. I'm not doing it to my opponent, especially someone who I've classed as a really good friend since the age of 13. I don't know how he's going to feel, but I feel pretty c***.
"I've not done anything when Jimmy's at the table or anything like that. Maybe I can rein it in a little bit, but then again I didn't really want to. That's how I play and that's how I am."
You may also like
Gaza: At least 64 killed in Israeli attacks since Friday morning
Foreign investors infuse Rs 8,500 crore into Indian equities this week
Nearly 50% Of U.S. Student Visa Cancellations Involve Indian Students: AILA
IPL 2025: Why is Jake Fraser-McGurk not in starting XI in GT vs DC Match 35?
Crowd suddenly decreased in Maa Vaishno Devi Dham, number of devotees reduced to half; Know why this happened?