Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ALL TO PLAY FOR Mark eyes more silverware after China win
MARK ALLEN wants to make sure he builds on his memorable International Championship triumph.
Northern Ireland’s top potter, above, stormed to an impressive 10-5 victory over Australia’s Neil Robertson in Sunday’s final in China.
And with victory the Antrim ace pocketed £175,000 and climbed from 12th to seventh in the world with the fourth ranking title of his career. Allen wants to kick on. “I feel like I should be competing to win a lot more events, especially with the amount of hard work I put in,” he said.
“But it’s a tough school because there’s a lot of good players around.
“Everyone is playing good snooker. They’re so sharp because there’s so many events these days.
“However, as much as I’d like to be competing in every tournament, I’m also thankful I get time to spend time with my family because it’s such a hectic schedule.”
The 32-year-old returns to action on Thursday in the Champion of Champions tournament at Coventry’s Ricoh
Arena.
And then it’s on to
Waterfront
Hall as the
Northern
Ireland
Open comes to Belfast again – and local favourite
Allen is expected to deliver.
“I’ll probably be very tired for the Champion of Champions because the travelling back is going to be long,” admitted Allen.
“It’s a lot of flying and then I’ve got a very tough match up first against Barry Hawkins.
“But my form is good and I’m confident, so let’s see what happens.
“You want to
beat the best of the best – and the winners of tournaments are in the Champion of Champions.
“I’ve played well this season but I hadn’t really gone deep for some reason until I won in China. “I’ve played a lot worse and won tournaments, but if I can’t be confident after a big win, then I’m in the wrong sport.”
Looking ahead to playing in Belfast alongside compatriots Joe Swail and Jordan Brown, Allen added: “If I can play like I did in China, then hopefully I can give the Belfast fans something to cheer about.”