“He’s gained that reputation of being unbeatable this season even though he’s played awful. He’s even talked about it himself, he’s almost laughing about it, people just can’t put him away.”

O’Sullivan could have perceived Robertson’s comments as a dig, but has agreed with his peer on several occasions and the 42-year-old confirmed he held peace talks with the sport’s greatest-ever player.

“I got slaughtered earlier in the season for saying Ronnie was playing awful in the tournaments early on,” said Robertson in the build-up to the World Championship. “It was a compliment, but a couple of papers ran with it saying I thought he was terrible which was nonsense.

“Actually to the point when I spoke to Ronnie, and I said you know what I’m saying, and he just laughed it off. He knew what I was saying. When you get to the semis and final, that’s when you really take the tournament on.”