Mark must play game of wait & see now..

MARK ALLEN faces a nervous wait to see if he automatically qualifies for this month’s World Snooker Championship.

The Antrim ace would become the first Masters champion in history not to be seeded in Sheffield.

Allen needed to beat Mark Williams in the last 16 of the China Open to secure his Crucible spot.

But an agonising 6-5 defeat in Beijing means a lower-ranked winner of the event would send Allen to qualifying – where he would need to win three tough matches.

“I am the one left sweating on the possibility of a surprise winner, so I will be checking the results,” admitted Allen, who missed a red to clinch the match.

“I have lost what seems like 10 deciders this season.

“As soon as I missed in the decider I thought ‘Here we go again, he’s going to clear up’. And he did.

“It was a strange match, some good stuff and some poor stuff when it got a bit scrappy – but most of the time I was just hanging in there.

“Mark started really well for the first two and a half frames, he was flawless and I was grateful to get a few points on the board and get back in the match.”

Allen bravely battled back from 3-0 and 4-2 behind to send the match to a decider with 69, 81, 71 and 65 breaks.

The Masters champion got in first with a 51 visit, but two-time world champion Williams clinched the match with a 67 run of his own after Allen missed a red.

HELD HIS NERVE Former World champ Mark Williams

ANXIOUS Mark Allen isn’t certain of spot in Sheffield