Allen wins final frame thriller as O’Sullivan reveals jungle offer
MARK Allen battled back from being one frame away from elimination to reach the quarter-finals of the UK Championship with a thrilling 6-5 win over Neil Robertson in York. The Antrim man had led 3-0, but Robertson fought back to lead the match 5-4 in a tight match that could have easily gone either way.
However, when faced with heading home early, World No.7 Allen showed his class by stepping up a gear, potting the match’s first century break in the tenth frame to take it to a deciding shootout.
And, in that winner-takes-all frame, the Ulsterman held his nerve to sink a long pot and then cleaned up with another century break to seal his progression into the last eight.
There he will face Stephen Maguire, who defeated Mark Williams in his fourth round tie, with that match getting underway tomorrow.
Meanwhile Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he rejected a lucrative offer to appear in the “I’m a Celebrity” jungle in order to focus on his quest to claim a seventh UK Championship with its’ £170,000 top prize.
O’Sullivan celebrated his 43rd birthday in style as he stormed into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 win over Jack Lisowski yesterday. But he could have been thousands of miles away if he had taken up the offer from ITV to become the third snooker player to appear on the reality show, after Jimmy White and Steve Davis.
O’Sullivan said: “I was invited this year but I decided to put it on the back-burner. I’m sure in time I’ll give it a go.
“Maybe they can move this tournament. I’ll come flying in like Tarzan from Australia to York with my thong on.”
Successive hundred breaks in the fifth and sixth frames helped O’Sullivan punish Lisowski for a series of errors after the 27-yearold had won the first frame of the match.
Stephen Maguire scored three consecutive centuries as he staged a remarkable comeback to beat reigning world champion Mark Williams 6-5.
Maguire trailed 4-0 but responded with breaks of 122, 120 and 109.