Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MARK OF A CHAMPION
Allen’s amazing comeback seals title
NERVELESS Mark Allen produced one of the greatest ever UK Championship fight backs as he became the first Northern Irish potter in 39 years to lift the famous trophy.
The comeback king made it third time lucky as he banished the pain of defeats in the 2011 and 2018 finals to land his second Triple Crown title in a late-night thriller at York’s Barbican.
Former Masters champion Allen, who was at least two frames behind in every match this week, won a magnificent seven frames in a row from 6-1 down to stun Ding Junhui (right) 10-7 as he followed in the footsteps of Alex Higgins by landing the prestigious prize after a marathon 53-minute final frame.
History repeated itself as Hurricane Higgins had also previously lost two UK finals before recovering from 7-0 behind in the final to beat Steve Davis 16-15 in 1983.
Scottish great John Higgins also came back from 9-5 down to dramatically pip Mark Williams 10-9 in the 2010 showpiece.
It’s the biggest win of Allen’s career considering this time last year he had declared himself bankrupt, was going through divorce proceedings and embroiled in maintenance disputes. The Antrim ace Allen has turned his life around by working with sports psychologist Paul Gaffney and shed five stone in his bid to get back to the top.
And Allen, who embraced wife-to-be Aideen, beamed: “It’s absolutely amazing. I don’t know how I done it. To follow in Alex’s footsteps is a great achievement. I’m trying to make my own legacy in the game.
“I had to draw on happy memories. I was just waiting for that chance at the end. I didn’t play well all week. I struggled in the first session, I just hung on.
“All of a sudden I felt so good. At 6-6 I didn’t feel I was going to lose, considering where I was at 6-1. It’s one of my best ever wins because Ding is such a legend.” Allen is now two-thirds of the way to becoming the 12th player to complete the Triple Crown with only the elusive World Championship evading him.
The £250,000 top prize puts Allen miles ahead at the top of the one-year ranking list and he moved up to fifth in the official world rankings after his eighth ranking title.
But the misfiring Pistol was 6-1 down in the first session as Ding dominated with three century breaks and other runs of 70 and 52.
The left-hander won an important final frame of the afternoon with a 79 visit and it was a blitz in the evening as Allen fired in a barrage of big breaks – 60, 93, 132, 56, 59, 109 – to land a memorable title.
Distraught Ding, who missed out on a Masters spot, said: “It’s hard, he punished me from 6-2.”