Mark Allen fights back to beat Zhou Yuelong and retain title in front of home crowd at Northern Ireland Open
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ByEurosport
Updated 23/10/2022 at 21:52 GMT
Mark Allen and Zhou Yuelong couldn't be split after the opening session of the Northern Ireland Open final, but the home favourite and defending champion pulled away in the evening session to triumph. Allen has now taken the 16th and final spot at the Champion of Champions. It was another famous and memorable victory for Allen at his home tournament in front of his delighted fans.
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Mark Allen has successfully defended his Northern Ireland title after a superb 9-4 comeback victory over Zhou Yuelong in front of his raucous home crowd at the Waterfront, Belfast.
The Northern Irishman was trailing 4-1 after a slow start but fired back relentlessly by claiming the next eight successive frames to retain the Alex Higgins Trophy in style. A cash prize of £80,000 and a place in next week’s Champion of Champions is the icing on the cake.
It wasn’t a match void of controversy as Zhou received a warning from referee Leo Scullion, who lost patience with the Chinese player in the fourth frame after the two-minute mark on the shot clock as he struggled to decide what to do in a tricky position on the table. Eurosport's Ronnie O'Sullivan and Jimmy White both criticised the match official, describing the incident as ‘unfair’ on Zhou.
Allen began with the confidence of a defending champion, opening with a run of 57 to get on the scoreboard. However, a missed red to the left corner in the second frame re-set the initiative, with Zhou seizing his opportunity to go to the mid-session interval with a two-frame advantage at 3-1.
The 24-year-old first put together a run of 56 before a total clearance of 135 in the third, and also took the fourth, despite a moment of refereeing controversy in a frame that went beyond 30 minutes.
Zhou saw the shot clock tick past two minutes as he pored over a tough call at the table, having established a lead of 61-17.
Perhaps frustrated after having handed the player the rest and then having had to put it back again, referee Leo Scullion gave Zhou a surprising warning.
"You need to decide," he implored the 24-year-old after the two-minute mark.
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O'Sullivan says 'it is not fair' after referee warns Zhou over shot
Scullion repeated the warning to the Chinese player, who then swiftly rushed to take the shot. As it happened, he pulled off a perfectly good safety shot with the cue ball finding its way to baulk.
Allen would fight to try to stay in the frame, and managed to get within touching distance after a safety exchange. However, ultimately a loose safety shot would see Zhou claim the frame.
The 24-year-old would also take the fifth frame – a near-50-minute epic – to open up a three-frame advantage, ensuring that he would at least go to the evening session on par.
Allen needed to act quickly, and that was exactly what he did, producing a brilliant response with a break of 68, his best of the final and enough to narrow the deficit to 4-2.
Confidence bolstered, Allen went on to dominate the seventh frame, before levelling things up to the delight of the home crowd with a break of 55 in the eighth that helped clinch a third consecutive frame as the Northern Irishman ended the first session on a high.
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'It is unfair!' - O'Sullivan and White don't agree with referee warning Zhou
Allen’s momentum continued into the evening, and he took the lead for the first time in the match, seizing upon an opportunity after a series of mistakes from Zhou, who fouled twice on a pink before a poor safety shot allowed his opponent to tidy up.
Zhou failed to escape from a timely snooker in the early stages of the 10th frame, and with the balls in place for another high break, Allen managed 85 – his highest break at that stage in the final to date – to put some daylight between the players.
Clearly relishing playing in front of his own fans, Allen made a superb pot on red to left centre en route to another hefty break. Everything was going his way as he fluked a red to all but settle the 11th frame.
After missing a tricky black in the 12th frame, Allen gave Zhou a chance but at this stage everything was going against him, and in next visit to the table Allen fluked another red. A huge roar went up when Allen potted the green as he put the frame beyond Zhou to build an 8-4 lead.
Zhou’s spirit had seemingly been broken by this stage and, cutting a dejected figure, he missed another red to centre. Allen would save the best for last, making his highest break of the night – 109 – as he celebrated with his family on another memorable occasion for the Antrim man.
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The Home Nations series is back and it is live and exclusive on discovery+. You can also watch Seventh Heaven, a two-part show about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s historic World Championship win last season, on demand now.
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