Drained Allen needed rest day

MARK ALLEN will be battling a cold as well as world ranked No 39 Ben Woolaston in the third round of the Betway UK Championship in York tonight (7.00pm).

And as the Antrim man goes in search of a sixth ranking title, the 2018 Masters champion hopes he can shake off the bug which he believes affected him in his 6-5 second round win over Welshman Jak Jones, having looked on course for a routine win at 5-1 up.

“If I’d have lost that match it would’ve been really hard to take and I probably wouldn’t have slept too well, that’s for sure.

“The match completely drained me and I’m happy to have had a day off now so I can get ready for my next game.

“I know I’ll have to play much better in my next match because Ben has come through two tough games and he’ll be razor sharp.

“But I’ve been practising really hard and I’ve been playing well in the build-up to the tournament, so I’m not reading too much into this performance and I’ll come back ready.”

Watch the UK Championship live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White.