Mark Allen is determined to seek inspiration from the recent Crucible Champion to end a high and challenging season by winning the world’s snooker title for the first time.
The 39-year-old skated from 1st to 8th in the world after not surpassing the ranking semifinals this season, but says he’s filled with confidence after finishing a 10-6 victory over Chinese qualifying fan Zhengyi.
After both Kyren Wilson and Luca Brecel have won their respective world titles and arrive at Sheffield behind the campaign below Par, rocking four frames in a row to formalise victory over the fans, Allen appears to be regaining his momentum.
Allen said: “It shows that the form book can sometimes go out the window here. Kylen had a seasonal Shocker compared to what I had, so he won the world title.
Allen, who lost the first three frames of the match on Sunday, changed his thin 5-4 overnight advantage to a dominant position on the brink of the final 16 with his four-frame winning streak with a break of 88 and 102.
Fans beaten by Allen for his previous only melting pot look in 2023, rallied with 86 and 74 breaks, but he extended the inevitable and extended the 63 breaks.
Allen then faces Chris Wakelin, who closes out former champion Neil Robertson in Sunday’s late-night thriller, and is the only species left in the top quarter of the draw after the previous defeats of Wilson and last year’s finalist Jacques Jones.
Allen made a timely comeback to a session with psychologist Paul Gaffney, who believes he has pulled him back towards a solid mental state he enjoyed when he reached the top of the world rankings in 2023.
“I felt like I was in a good place to come here and mentally I was back to where I was 18 months ago,” Allen said. “I’ve been working with Paul every day last month, and I might have dropped the ball a little by not talking to him as much as I could. I’ve worked as hard as ever, so that’s certainly not on the table.”
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Joe O’Connor missed the max but gained a 5-4 advantage over John Higgins after the opening session of their first round match, scheduled to end Monday evening. Leicester Qualifiers were on track to make the 15th 147 in crucible history after potting 12 reds and red blacks in the seventh frame and missing a sturdy red in the remaining corners.
O’Connor, who defeated his friend Mark Selby in the first round last year, mainly controlled the opening stage, but struggled to count the score against experienced Scotland. Higgins, a four-time champion who took part in this year’s tournament after winning the Tour Championship earlier this month, has not been convened for half a century, most of the nine times over four centuries.
However, despite O’Connor’s 100 breaks and three more breaks over 80 in the sixth frame, Higgins strolled around to take the final frame of the morning session, suggesting that a slow finish could be on the card.
Crucible debutant Zach Sally finished the opening session of his first round match with Din Junhui in the first century as he returned within three frames of his previous melting pot finalist. Surety got off to a nightmare start when he lost his first four frames, but his late rally, covered in a late 104 break, gives him hope when he takes over 6-3 on Tuesday.
