So, after two weeks of glittering snooker, Neil Robertson will take on Graeme Dott in the World Championship final... but the Crucible showpiece has been overshadowed by news that 2009 champion John Higgins has allegedly been caught agreeing to accept money to fix matches.
The 34-year-old Scot, the provisional world number one, has reportedly been caught on camera by News of the World reporters offering to fix a series of matches on the World Series Tour, apparently along with Pat Mooney, who is Higgins' agent as well as a board member of the World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association.
If the allegations are true, they could rock the sport to its core and chairman of the WPBSA Barry Hearn has pledged to carry out an immediate inquiry, stating: "If these allegations against the World Champion John Higgins and Mooney are true it is a very serious matter indeed and a massive, massive blow to the integrity of the sport."
The timing certainly couldn't have been worse, with Robertson preparing to take on surprise package Dott in the first final not to feature an Englishman since 2003 when Mark Williams beat Ken Doherty 18-16, while Robertson is the first overseas player to reach the final since Cliff Thorburn in 1983 and will be the first ever Australian to feature in the showpiece event at the Crucible.
After overcoming Ali Carter 17-12 in their semi-final Robertson, who was lucky to get past the second round after trailing qualifier Martin Gould 11-5, now finds himself the general 8-11 favourite to beat the 2006 champion Dott, who lines up in his third final after an impressive run that has seen him beat Peter Ebdon, Stephen Maguire and Mark Allen, before his 17-14 semi-final success over Mark Selby.
The 'Pocket Dynamo' is the outsider at 11-10, but he could well get his hands on the trophy again and it would be a remarkable feat after falling from grace after his win four years ago. Just months after his success, Dott's manager lost his battle with kidney cancer, before his wife Elaine suffered a miscarriage, sending the diminutive Scot into a cycle of depression that saw his career hit the buffers, which saw him drop out of the world's top 16.
But the 32-year-old has fought back bravely against all the odds and some pundits are saying he is playing better at this year's tournament than he did when he won it in 2006. Indeed, he has enjoyed an incredible run and when you think of the players he has beaten already then there is no reason why he cannot add Robertson to that list of scalps. The way he dug his heels in against Selby when the 'Jester from Leicester' threatened a late comeback suggests that the Scottish cueman's name will be added to the famous trophy once more.
Robertson has been a player mooted for the top table for the past few years and he has shown his prowess by bagging the Grand Prix title twice and he is a formidable player, and will be a world champion of the future. But I think he will play second fiddle to Dott this time around and my advice is to get on the Scot at odds against to claim an incredible second world title and complete the fairytale.
