The Antirm man appeared to have most of the hard work done as he took a 6-2 lead after the first session in Brentwood. However, he struggled badly in the final session – until the need was greatest
Mark Allen relied on pure grit and determination as he won the English Open in a final frame decider on Sunday night for his first ranking event win in almost two years.
The Antirm man appeared to have most of the hard work done as he took a 6-2 lead after the first session in Brentwood. However, he struggled badly in the final session if the decider and China’s Zhou Yuelong won five frames on the spin to lead 8-7 in the first to nine final.
With the need ai it’s greatest, Allen stepped up to the plate again to win a remarkable fifth final frame decider of the tournament, well after midnight. He had pipped Stuart Bingham, Ding Junhui, Elliot Slessor and Jak Jones up to then.
Allen, 39, took home the £100,000 top prize and lifted the Steve Davis Trophy for the first time. He has already won the Alex Higgins trophy for the Northern Ireland Open as well as the Stephen Hendry trophy for the Scottish Open. The only one of the home nations events left to conquer is the Welsh Open where the Ray Reardon trophy is up for grabs.
“It’s a good trait to have,” said Allen of his true grit in the deciders. “I don’t want to keep relying on it but I felt as good as any part of the match in those last two frames, but I feel for Zhou, he probably deserved that for the character he showed.
“He put me under pressure, I missed a few balls and I was nervous. I missed a few that I shouldn’t have but at 8-7 I suddenly switched on a bit.
“It’s a good trait to have. I don’t want to keep relying on it but I felt as good as any part of the match in those last two frames, but I feel for Zhou, he probably deserved that for the character he showed.
“I felt really relaxed today but I don’t know why, I haven’t slept much because I’ve been here most of the time.
“I felt so tired all day and then at 8-7 I thought ‘this is it’. It was make-or-break and that gave me a bit more energy.”
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