I WON’T PUT CART BEFORE THE HORSE
BIRTHDAY boy Mark Allen would love to give himself the perfect gift by winning the Players
Championship.
The world No.3, who turned 38 yesterday, secured his semi-final spot with a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Gary Wilson (inset, top) in Telford.
But the Pistol will have to put his celebrations on hold with a place in Sunday’s showcase final up for grabs against Ali Carter tonight.
Resurgent Carter (inset, bottom)was the man who denied Allen a shot at Ronnie O’sullivan in last month’s Masters final.
And the Pistol, who chalked up his 700th professional win, said: “It would be the perfect present to win the title.
“It would be great. It would also secure my spot in the Tour Champs so there’s a lot on offer.
“But I’m only halfway there so I can’t get carried away.
“I’ve got a tough match ahead of me with Ali. He beat me in the Masters semi-finals so I owe him one.
“It will be a quiet meal and a movie for me tonight. It will be a different type of celebration than usual.
“I’ve got a job to do.”
Allen made most of the running as he opened up a commanding 3-1 lead with breaks of 84, 63 and 75.
But last week’s Welsh Open winner Wilson levelled with a top run of 76.
Allen reasserted his two-frame cushion with a 49 visit and looked set to close out a 6-3 win before leaving the black over the pocket.
But the Antrim ace made a 69 break to get over the line.
And Allen, who hit three centuries in the first round, added: “I was really pleased with that break in the final frame because the balls were tough.
“I was telling myself not to miss the black thick and I missed it thick!
“I was thinking to myself I had to win the match all over again but I made a good break in the last.
“I’m working on something new and sometimes it’s hard to trust that under pressure but I did that well there.
“I know I didn’t have the breaks I did in the first round, but there was lots of good safety played between the two of us.
“I did most of the scoring and I was really happy with my game.”