PLAYER POWER WORKS FOR ALL

NORTHERN Irish potter Mark Allen is delighted snooker bosses saw sense and re-jigged the German Masters.

There was a massacre in qualifying last season, meaning only four of the top 16 featured at the main venue in Berlin.

However, the hugelypopular event at the Tempodrom has been extended from five days to seven with first-round matches for the top eight seeds heldover to ensure their participation for the TV stages at the venue.

And world No.3 Allen (above) said: “There was a bit of player power really with how poorly the qualifying went last year.

“I think only a few of the top 16 qualified and that doesn’t look good for any tournaments; for sponsors, broadcasters.

“It’s a backwards step for WST because they wanted to go open plan tournaments all the time, but the players hold a bit of power as well as the broadcasters and sponsors.

“That’s the main reason for the change. WST were accommodating of that change.

“They could have stuck to their guns and kept it the way it is, but they know a mistake was made. It’s definitely better for everyone.”

The event has not been a happy hunting ground for the Antrim ace, who hates the unique multitable set-up at the venue.

But he reached a semifinal in 2022 after years of misfiring at the event.

He added: “It’s a great venue and the crowds are unbelievable every year. I just hate the setup of the outside tables in the early rounds.

“It’s very distracting. People are sat in the front row of your table and they’re watching another match.

“The lighting’s so different because the lighting has to be triple the height of normal tournaments because the crowd can’t see and that leads to shadowing on the table.

“I’ve played there in the past and you can’t see three pockets on the table if you’re playing towards the TV table, all those little things add up and it’s not my favourite event.

“But that doesn’t mean I won’t be going there and trying my best to win it.

“If you can get through to that one-table set-up then you feel like a proper event because the crowd is unbelievable.”