Mark Allen aiming to get under the skin of Ronnie O'Sullivan in World Championship clash
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Updated 22/04/2022 at 08:13 GMT
Mark Allen is looking forward to his clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible and said he will look to impose himself on their second-round clash in Sheffield. "It's just a game of snooker. I'll go out there, hopefully play well and control myself." Watch the World Championship and other top snooker live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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Mark Allen has said he will attempt to get under the skin of Ronnie O’Sullivan when they clash in the second round of the World Championship on Friday.
O’Sullivan eased into the last 16 with a comfortable victory over David Gilbert, while Allen saw off Scott Donaldson.
They have met before at the Crucible, with Allen getting the better of O’Sullivan in the second round in 2009.
Allen’s recent record at the Crucible is not great and he is aware of the challenge at hand, but is not daunted by the prospect of taking on the six-time winner.
"Ronnie looks in a good place, but we know it can turn very quickly," Allen told the BBC. "It's up to me to play well, get under his skin a little bit and see if that changes.
"I appreciate how tough the task is but I think Ronnie's been coming here 30 years maybe and he's won six so that means he's lost 24, so I just want to be one of those.
"It's just a game of snooker. I'll go out there, hopefully play well and control myself.
"You want to play against the best on the biggest stages. It's what we play the game for. But Ronnie's just another opponent for me - you have to play very well, but you could say that about a number of people in round two.
"The only time we've played at Sheffield I beat him so I have to try and keep those sort of memories going forward.”
O’Sullivan is the sport’s draw card, and Allen would not want to be in the Rocket’s shoes.
"A day in the life of Ronnie O'Sullivan - I'm not sure I would want to be in it," Allen said.
"Ronnie's Ronnie - he'll always bring a lot of off-table stuff with him, but that's part and parcel of what he brings to the sport and how big a draw he has become.
"He's not just a genius on the table. Some of the stuff he does off the table gets people talking. He's probably the only one in our game that can create column inches off the table."
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