Neil Robertson changes his name after receiving major Australia honour | Other | Sport
Neil Robertson can add new initials after his name after receiving the Order of Australia award (OAM) for services to snooker.
The 2010 World Championship winner was written to by the Australian state to confirm the honour, which read: “Dear Mr Robertson. I wrote to you recently advising that you were being considered for an award within the Order of Australia.
“It is now my pleasure to inform you that your Medal of the Order of Australia General Division has been approved by the Governor-General in their capacity as Chancellor of the Order of Australia, with effect from Sunday 26 January 2025. The Governor-General has asked me to extend their congratulations to you.”
He was asked in the letter to keep his new title a secret until it was announced on Australia Day 2025.
Robertson, 42, can now use the initials ‘OAM’ after his name and it remains to be seen whether he will do so at snooker events.
He will be next in action in Berlin for the German Masters, which sees Robertson take on Polish potter Antoni Kowalski in the first round on Monday.
The highly-anticipated Tempodrom event is not one that Robertson has won previously, having reached the final in 2020 and the semi-final in 2013, but he has not made it beyond the third round since that final against Judd Trump.
Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) Robertson reacted to his new recognition, writing: “Wow what an honour. The proudest moment of my career! A kid growing up in Australia I could never imagine something like this.”
Robertson is the most successful Australian snooker player of all time, and the most decorated outside of the UK, as the only non-UK-born star to have completed the Triple Crown.
He won three UK Championship titles in 2013, 2015 and 2020, in addition to Masters wins in 2012 and 2022 and his Crucible triumph.
The OAM award was created by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975 after the recommendation of then-Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. It is the highest civilian honour that can be bestowed by the Australian government.
Several of Robertson’s colleagues congratulated him on the accolade, while the World Snooker Tour and World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association released a joint statement, using his new name in full.
They wrote: “Our congratulations go to Neil for this outstanding and richly-deserved award. He has been a tremendous player at the top of the sport for over 20 years and is popular across the world for his personality and style of play. He has also been a great ambassador for snooker and a credit to his country. Well done Neil Robertson OAM!”