Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Twoday is a big test for Allen..
MARK ALLEN is desperate to complete a double shift to keep his shot at snooker history alive at the Scottish Open.
The UK champion beat Martin Gould 4-2 with two century breaks in the second round yesterday but today needs to win two matches to book his spot in tomorrow’s coveted quarter-finals in Edinburgh.
Pocketing the Stephen Hendry trophy, after recent triumphs at the Northern Ireland Open and UK Championship, would see the Antrim ace become only the fifth player in history to win three successive ranking crowns.
Allen, who is chasing the £80,000 top prize, said:
“I’m a long, long way from the title.
“If I’m honest I haven’t been playing my best over
the last few days.
“It’s great to even come here with a chance of doing that.
“But I’ll only think about that if it comes around on Sunday night.”
Allen raced 3-1 up with a fine 107 break before missing virtual match ball on the pink after Gould broke down on 52.
But the laser-focused Pistol fired in a tasty 132 clearance to reach the last 32.
And ahead of potentially two matches today, the first of which is against Thepchaiya Un-nooh, he added: “It’s a big, big day.
It’s a busy day and if you get through that you feel like you’re in a big event again.
“There will only be eight players left come Friday and when you’re in the quarterfinals it’s all to play for then.
“It’s all about getting to Friday and then you can sink your teeth into the event.”