Neil Robertson really is back now... and he might just become Player of the Season.
We've spent much of the last six months in snooker debating whether Neil Robertson is really back. Well, we can move on to our next conversation now.
Robertson's brilliant victory at the World Grand Prix cemented a mighty impressive recovery from his dramatic low point of last spring.
You may remember that in April 2024 Robertson lost to Jamie Jones in World Championship qualifying. For snooker fans everywhere, it was hard to believe that this generational talent wouldn't play at the Crucible.
It was a miserable end to what was, by Robertson's standards, a very ordinary season. The Australian reached just two tournament semi-finals and tumbled down the rankings. For a player used to packing his trophy cabinet with silver, it was miles below par.
There was even talk from some quarters that Robertson's days at the top were numbered. That felt premature in truth, but there's no doubt it was a significant fall from grace for a player widely recognised to be the finest to ever emerge from outside the UK.
What happened next was typical Robertson. There was no moping around. No doubting his future in the sport. He simply said he would get straight back on the table, and vowed to quickly bounce back.
He actually played on the very first day of this season last June, at the Championship League. Soon after, a run to the quarter-finals in the first ranking tournament to be played in Saudi Arabia, with wins over Mark Selby and Gary Wilson, was promising.
And then came a return to the winners' enclosure at the English Open in September. Robertson despatched all his opponents with ease on the way to the final in Brentwood - including Shaun Murphy and Barry Hawkins - and then beat Wu Yize 9-7 in the showpiece match.
Still, not everyone was yet convinced. They wanted more evidence. Robertson beat world No.1 Judd Trump on his way to the last four of the Champion of Champions and he made the last eight at ranking events in Belfast and Berlin. But a few doubts still persisted.
Now they're banished for good after what we saw at the World Grand Prix. Robertson saw off Yuan Sijun, David Gilbert and Xiao Guodong, before he finished like an express train to beat one of the game's most in-form players, Masters winner Murphy, in the semi-finals.
And in the final in Hong Kong, Robertson steamrollered former world champion Stuart Bingham with an amazing 10-0 win, only the fourth whitewash ever in ranking finals with multiple sessions.
One thing Robertson has never been short of is confidence, and it's clearly soaring again. Having his good friend Joe Perry there for advice on an a daily basis seems to be doing the trick, while Robertson has also mentioned the importance of working with sport psychologist Helen Davis.
Frankly, it's no surprise that the 43-year-old has a decent opinion of himself - here is a man who left behind his family and friends on the other side of the world in the late 1990s in pursuit of his snooker dreams.
He suffered some early setbacks, finding life tough on tour, but to his great credit he persevered and eventually reached the very top of one of the most mentally demanding sports out there.
His rivals will be the ones rightly doing the worrying now. When Robertson is really firing, his standards are electrifying, with superb break building allied with high level tactical acumen.
I have a sneaky feeling he might not stick on two tournament wins for this season either. The Players Championship, Tour Championship and World Championship offer big chances for Robertson to shine once more this spring.
We all know Robertson's Crucible record is underwhelming - with just his 2010 success to show for two decades at the top - but perhaps it will suit him to go in this year without being as highly fancied as is often the case.
Indeed, what price that Robertson uses these final furlongs of a long campaign to overtake the current frontrunners, Trump and Kyren Wilson, and become the player of the 2024-25 season. If he does that, could there be anything more Robertson? What a way to prove the doubters wrong.
I'll tell you who benefits from this recovery of form apart from Robertson and his fans: all of us. Robertson being back to his best is just good news for snooker. It's one of this sport's most compelling sights. We know we have some proper stardust back again at the sharp end of tournaments.
The last two months of the season promise so much. And a reborn Robertson will be slap bang in the middle of it all.
Sheffield on the horizon but Players Series is great value in its own right
These Players Series events are seriously special. There's a temptation to become focused on Sheffield now as the biggest tournament of all fast approaches, but Telford and Manchester will help to dissuade us from that approach.
It's the Players Championship first up and we'll be served delightful match-ups every day.
What a way to kick off on Monday night too. If you're going to Telford, you're in for an absolute treat. Otherwise, it's what double screening was invented for.
If both Mark Williams and Ding Junhui bring their top game, it could well be a beautiful encounter to watch. They actually met at the Masters in January and while it was quite a slow start, the match developed into a captivating affair, with Ding winning 6-5.
On the other table, there's the little matter of Kyren Wilson against Mark Allen. World champion Wilson will start as the favourite, with Allen really talking down his game lately.
Mind you, beware the injured golfer and all that. Allen is just the type to find his form again in a match against last year's Crucible winner.
Tournaments like these don't necessarily need a big start. But boy have we got one.