ALLEN WINS FIRST TITLE IN 2 YEARS

MARK ALLEN ended a 23-month wait for a major title by winning the Champion of Champions for the first time last night.

Northern Ireland’s top potter beat defending champion Neil Robertson 10-6 in a stellar final at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

And with victory the Antrim cueman pocketed the £150,000 first prize and his first major crown since winning the Scottish Open in December 2018.

Victory was also a measure of revenge for Allen who was thumped 10-5 by Aussie ace Robertson in the 2015 Champion of Champions final.

“It’s been a while since I won one but it’s so tough,” reflected Allen, who beat world champion Ronnie O’sullivan and world No 1 Judd Trump on course to his coveted crown.

“Beating the world No.1, No.2 and No.3 to win the tournament is pretty special. This win is for a lot of people who have been there for me over the years. And especially for my dad. I don’t think he’s stopped since I won the Masters. But I won’t rest on my laurels though – I’ll be back at it this week practising.”

Melbourne’s Robertson pocketed three century breaks – 121, 108 and 109 in a dazzling start to the pair’s best-of-19 frame showdown – but still found himself 5-4 down after the opening afternoon session.

World No.8 Allen (above) impressed with runs of 101, 110, 67 and 55 for his slender one-frame advantage. Breaks of 84 and 53 saw him stay in front but, with a threeframe gap within his grasp, Allen missed the final yellow to go 8-5 up and Robertson, the world No.3, cleared the colours to claw back to within one frame at 7-6.

However, Allen showed his class to win the match in style, dishing up with breaks of 119, 70 and 105 for a memorable victory.

“He was just too good,” admitted Robertson, who earnt himself £60,000 as a worthy runner-up.

“My scoring was good but my safety play wasn’t up to scratch. Mark capitalised, he deserved to win. He played brilliant.”

Meanwhile, O’sullivan has warned his fellow pros they just have to deal with the Milton Keynes experience.

The six-time world champion has seen at least the first nine tournaments of the season played at the Marshall Arena – the surprise new ‘home of snooker’.

He said: “It is what it is – if you want to play snooker at the moment, then you have to play in Milton Keynes.”