Mark Allen moves into the winners’ group at the Championship League Snooker 2011
The 25-year-old Northern Ireland star, Mark Allen, came from behind to clinch a victory in group six and has now advanced to the Championship League Snooker winners’ group. He beat Stephen Lee of England in the finals with a 3-0 score-line on Thursday.
The luck of the Irish was finally with him. Previously he lost his last match in group four to Ali Carter of the UK and then lost to Welsh snooker player, Ryan Day, in a group five match. He finally made a brilliant come-back, beating the Englishman in group
six, to book his place in the winners’ circle.
“It was third time lucky in the finals this year so I'm just happy to get to the Winners' Group - that's where everyone wants to be,” Allen admitted. “Losing in two finals means you're in a bit of money but I wasn't going to be relaxed until I won a group.”
Allen presented fascinating game-play in Essex on Thursday to qualify for the final stage of the major event. The 2011 Championship League Snooker will start on 23rd March. Prior to his most recent victory, he proved his worth throughout the tournament
with his 3-0 triumph, first over Mark Davis of England and then over Bristol native, Judd Trump.
He lost just one match on the second and final day against Matthew Stevens of Carmarthen but still won overall 3-1.
The semi-final clash against Stevens was highly anticipated but Allen did not let Stevens dominate even for an instant thorough out the match.
Stephen Lee was also in fine fettle. His form and quality throughout the two-day tournament was superb and he clawed into the semi-finals to meet Mark King. The Briton took control throughout the whole match notching breaks of 77 and 74 with his inspiring
potting before taking the 3-1 win to reach the finals.
Meanwhile, Allen carried his blistering form getting into the final clash and continued hitting breaks of 63, 71 and 119 to take the match without dropping a frame. With this win, the Irishman now moves into the winners’ group where Mark Selby, Mark Williams,
Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter and Ryan Day have already qualified.
The final player to join this autumn’s major will be decided in the last regular group contest, which takes place on Monday, 21 March and Tuesday, 22 March. The players fighting for the last spot in the winners’ group are Marco Fu, Martin Gould, Andrew Higginson,
Mark King, Liang Wenbo, Matthew Stevens and Judd Trump.
The matches for the winners’ group will be held on Wednesday, 23 March and Thursday, 24 March after which the overall champion will gain a place in the Matchroom Sport’s prestigious Premier League Snooker challenge. Allen is aiming high for event and said,
“To play in the Premier League would be a dream come true, especially after coming so close last year.”
It will be interesting to see how Allen carries his winning momentum forward.
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