Mark Allen beats Ali Carter to surge into quarter-final stage of 2011 UK Championship
Northern Irish cueist, Mark Allen, earned an easy victory over compatriot and former world snooker championship runner-up, Ali Carter, by the score line of 6-2 in Round 2 of 2011 UK Championship. Allen put up an excellent snooker display at the York Barbican
Centre to claim his second-round victory and surge into the quarter-final stage of snooker’s second biggest tournament.
The Pistol, Allen, had a superb start in the match, as he grabbed the first scrappy frame after smashing a cracking knock of 78 to lead 1-0. The second frame was a little tough for Allen because Carter bounced back into the game with classy shots and won
the rack 52-11, to pull level at 1-1.
Third frame of Allen/Carter encounter was totally dominated by the 25-year-old Allen, who potted a tremendous century clearance of 101 to move one frame ahead of his opponent at 2-1. Allen extended his lead to 3-1, with a fourth frame win by 42-5.
After tumbling two frames down, Carter was trying hard to capitalise in the fifth frame. He got a chance when Allen played a poor safety shot and hit a 28 break to move one frame up at 3-2.
The sixth frame of the match was a topsy-turvy affair, as both players went neck and neck to get a lead. Carter pocketed an impressive half-century break of 53 points and was close to win the game but unfortunately he ran out of position and had to play
a safety shot in the end.
Carter’s safety shot was not enough to hold Allen back. The Antrim potter dominated the table with excellent shots and compiled a 73-point break to win the frame and lead by 4-2. After that, the match-up was a piece of cake for the Allen, as he took back-to-back
frames to clinch the match by 6-2. Allen was quite happy after earning his second victory in the 2011 UK Championship.
Speaking to local media at the conclusion of his contest, Allen said, “I was happy with the way I played before the interval. I scored quite heavily to be 3-1 up. Then I sort of took my foot off the gas again but I made two good clearances to pull away to
5-2 and after that I knew Ali would be on the ropes. It was just a matter of being patient and waiting for my chance.”
With this victory, Allen has secured a place in the quarter-finals of 2011 UK Championship, where he will be meeting Hong Kong’s Marco Fu.
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