Chinese veteran snooker player Liang Wenbo fell short in the final round of the 2015 Betway Snooker UK Championship held at the Barbican Centre in York, England on Sunday as he surrendered via a 10-5 decision to world no. 3 Neil Robertson of Australia.

28-year-old Wenbo, who is currently ranked no. 29 in the world, faced his opponent in his best game as the Australian broke the match wide open in the sixth frame, pulling off a perfect 147 break, to pull away at 4-2.

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The Guardian indicated that it was "the first maximum made in a final of any of the game's Triple Crown tournaments: the Masters, World Championship and UK Championship", which is to say a history-making performance for the Melbourne native.

Sporting Life noted that the final match between Liang and Robertson, who share the same manager, is "historic" as it is the first UK Snooker Championship final that featured two players outside of Britain, although both players are known to have settled for several years now in the country.

Liang's road to the finals included wins over esteemed world snooker players Judd Trump (6-4), Tom Ford (6-5), and Marco Fu (6-5).

The former world no. 15 ended the run of surprise English semifinalist David Grace, 6-4, during their final four encounter while Robertson thrashed another Englishman, Mark Selby, 6-0, in the other semifinal match.

Although he possessed what his opponents say a "boring" game, only Robertson was able to overcome the Chinese's tactics to win the tourney.

The Heilongjiang, China native received a check worth £70,000 for his runner-up finish in the prestigious world-class tournament, his highest career payday to date, while the champion bagged £150,000 and a bonus £44,000 for pulling off a 147.

However, what is more important for the Chinese snooker wizard is that he has secured a place in the Masters for the first time in his career after reaching the final of this year's tournament.  

TagsChina sports news 2015, China sports, 2015 Snooker UK Championship, Liang Wenbo