Matt’s Master class!

MARK ALLEN won the Northern Ireland Open last night after an astonishing comeback to pip John Higgins after a thriller.

Allen ( pictured) needed to win the final three frames to lift the trophy in front of his home fans in Belfast and he nearly lifted the roof off the Waterfront as he did so in dramatic fashion.

John Higgins had led 8- 6 after playing some superb snooker, including an incredible clearance earlier on.

But it was Allen who triumphed in the end 9- 8 after a thrilling final frame.

Meanwhile Judd Trump has regained his world No.1 spot – despite a ranking system snooker bosses admit is “skewed” towards the World Championship.

Pile

‘The Juddernaut’ won 11 ranking events in 20 months to get to the top of the pile and also be universally recognised by his rivals as the man to beat.

But he did not win the world title in the two-year prize- money based qualification period which meant Mark Selby – having won just five titles – briefly nicked top place from him. That triggered a storm of protest from Trump and others that there was too big a difference between the £500,000 cheque at the Crucible and regular tournaments.

MATT Fitzpatrick won the Andalucia Masters after an error-free round of 69 on the final day to finish at six- under overall and win by three strokes.

Down by three shots at the start of the day, Fitzpatrick made 15 consecutive pars followed by birdies on the 16th and 17th to rise up the leaderboard as others struggled on the Valderrama course where only 14 players finished under par.

“It’s on the bucket list to win a round at Valderrama with the history that it has. To do it bogey free on Sunday as well is extra special, I’m delighted,” Fitzpatrick said.