Mark Allen (snooker Player)

Mark Allen (born 22 February 1986) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player from Antrim. He won the European and World Amateur Championship in 2004 and turned professional in 2005. Allen entered the world top 16 after only three seasons. He lifted his first ranking title at the 2012 World Open, defeating Stephen Lee 10–1 in the final; he has since won a career total of 11 ranking titles. He has won two Triple Crown titles—he defeated Kyren Wilson 10–7 to win the 2018 Masters and Ding Junhui by the same score to win the 2022 UK Championship—and has twice reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship, in 2009 and 2023.

The 2022–23 season was the best of Allen's career to date as he reached four ranking finals, won three ranking titles and reached number three in the world rankings. He was ranked world number one from May to August 2024. He has compiled over 600 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks. He is the first player to make a maximum break in all the Triple Crown Events.

Career

Early career

At a young age, Allen considered a career in football, having trials with Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest before concentrating on snooker. Playing out of the Fountain Club in Antrim, he was Northern Ireland U14 champion in 2000, the U16 champion in 2001, before winning the Irish U16, U18 and U19 titles in one weekend in 2002, becoming the first player to win all three tournaments. By the age of 16 he had recorded his first maximum break and was a winner of the Golden Waistcoat, a tournament for the best U19 players from around the world.

He began his professional career by playing Challenge Tour in 2003, at the time the second-level professional tour. Before entering the Main Tour for the 2005–06 season, Allen won the European Championship and the IBSF World Championship, plus Northern Ireland Championship at under-14, under-16, and under-19 levels. His early career was aided by National Lottery funding.

By chance, an invitational Northern Ireland Trophy was staged shortly after Allen turned professional.Northern Ireland Trophy 2005"
, WWW Snooker, 25 August 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2009 As a local player, he was invited and made an immediate impact, defeating Steve Davis and John Higgins to reach the quarter-finals, before losing to Stephen Hendry. In his first year on the tour, he reached the last 32 of the 2005 UK Championship and the 2006 Welsh Open, losing 2–5 to the then World Champion Shaun Murphy after leading 2–0. He also got to the final qualifying round of the 2006 World Championship, losing 7–10 to Andy Hicks, after leading 7–4.

In March 2007 he qualified for the World Championship for the first time, winning three matches, culminating in a 10–4 win over Robert Milkins. In April 2007 he beat former world champion Ken Doherty 10–7 in the first round held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, but lost to Matthew Stevens 9–13 in the second round. This was his first run to the last 16 of a tournament and helped him into the top 32 of the rankings (at no. 29).

In the 2007 Grand Prix, in a match with Ken Doherty, he was involved in an incident that led to his opponent branding him "a disgrace". Unhappy that the black would not go back on its spot after potting it, Allen struck the side cushion of the table with his fist. The referee told him that he would be warned if he did that again. Allen was not warned, and ended up winning the match. Doherty said, "He was a disgrace. For such a relative newcomer to the pro game, he's got a serious attitude problem". Allen later commented: "It was entirely my own fault and if there are going to be any repercussions then so be it." Allen did not reach the knockout stage of the tournament.

In the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy he beat Graeme Dott and Ryan Day, 5–3 in each case, to reach his first ever quarter-final. There he defeated Gerard Greene 5–3 to reach the semi-final, where he lost 3–6 to Fergal O'Brien. In the following UK Championship he defeated Stephen Hendry in the last 32. He opened his last-16 match against Mark Williams with two centuries in the first three frames, building a 5–1 lead, but Williams fought back and he lost 5–9. He then reached the quarter-finals in the 2008 China Open before losing to Shaun Murphy. At the 2008 World Championship he led Stephen Hendry 6–3, 7–4 and 9–7 before losing 9–10. However, first-round defeats for all his rivals for a top-16 place ensured that he finished the season at number 16 in the rankings.

2009–2011 seasons

At the 2009 World Championship, Allen beat Martin Gould in his opening match. He then faced Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round, and Allen defeated the defending champion 13–11 to progress to the quarter-finals. He then defeated Day by the same scoreline to reach the semi-finals, where he lost 13–17 to John Higgins, despite making a fightback from 3–13 down. Allen won his first professional tournament, the 2009 Jiangsu Classic, by beating home favourite Ding Junhui 6–0 in the final.

During the 2010 Masters, Allen beat the World Champion, John Higgins, 6–3 in the last 16, but lost 5–6 to Selby in the quarter-finals.

On the first day of the 2010 World Championship, Allen came close to recording his first ever maximum break in his first round match against Tom Ford after potting 15 reds with blacks, and the yellow, before breaking down on the green. Five days later, Allen made the first 146 break in World Championship history, and the second of his career after defeating Mark Davis 13–5 in the second round. He was defeated 12–13 in the quarter-finals by Dott, having led 12–10.

At the 2010 UK Championship, Allen reached the semi-finals for the first time, where he was beaten 5–9 by eventual champion John Higgins. In the Masters, Allen again reached the semi-finals, and led Marco Fu 4–1 before Fu reeled off five frames in a row to win 6–4. At the 2011 World Championship, Allen entered as the 11th seed and played Matthew Stevens in the first round, recovering from 9–6 down and seeing Stevens miss a pot on the final pink to win the match 10–7, before winning 10–9. In the second round, Allen defeated Barry Hawkins 13–12. He reached the quarter-finals for the second year in a row but lost to Mark Williams 5–13.

2011/2012 season

The season began with Allen ranked world number 12 and he began it at the inaugural Australian Goldfields Open, where he beat Ryan Day and Marcus Campbell. Into the quarter finals, Allen was beaten by his rival Stuart Bingham 5–3. The next ranking event was the Shanghai Masters where Allen reached the second round and held a 4–2 advantage over Shaun Murphy before losing the next 3 frames and being edged out of the match 5–4. His steady start to the season meant that he maintained his world ranking of 12 after the first cut-off point.

Allen made it to his first ranking event final at the 2011 UK Championship by beating Adrian Gunnell, Ali Carter, Marco Fu and Ricky Walden. It was his first success in a ranking event semi-final, after having lost in all five prior attempts. In the final he played Judd Trump with whom he held a 2–1 advantage in the previous meetings between the pair. Allen opened up a 3–1 lead early in the best of 19 frames match, but subsequently lost the next seven frames to trail 3–8. However, such a deficit brought out the best in Allen as he won five of the next six frames, which included three centuries. The comeback was not quite completed though, as Trump secured the frame he required to take an 8–10 victory. Allen said after the final, "I knew it was going to be hard the way he was playing, he scores so heavy and so quickly and I didn't feel I was playing too bad but Judd played so well and it was hard to compete." Allen made five centuries during the tournament, the most of anyone in the event.

Allen lost the last four frames in the first round of the Masters to Neil Robertson having led 3–2 and stated afterwards that he had "completely lost interest" in the match. He accused the Australian of employing slow tactics and said that at times he didn't want to watch him play. He then exited the German Masters in the second round and lost to Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open.

In March, Allen won his first ever ranking event as he captured the World Open title in Haikou, China. He beat qualifier Jimmy Robertson in the first round, before exacting revenge over Judd Trump for his defeat in York, by coming back from 0–3 down to triumph 5–4. He comfortably beat Mark King 5–1 in the quarter-finals, before producing another comeback from 2–5 down against world number 1 Mark Selby to win 6–5 and reach his second ranking final of the season. Allen played Stephen Lee in the final and dominated the encounter from start to finish as he won by 10 frames to 1. His season finished in disappointment, however, as he exited both the China Open and World Championship in the first round, to end the year where he started it, ranked world number 12.

2012/2013 season

Allen began the season with second round losses to Mark Williams at the Wuxi Classic and Judd Trump in the Shanghai Masters. His first title of the year soon followed at the minor-ranking Antwerp Open, by making three centuries in a 4–1 win over Mark Selby in the final. Allen then beat Robert Milkins and Cao Yupeng both 6–2 in the inaugural International Championship, before being edged out 5–6 by Trump in the quarter-finals. Marco Fu at the UK Championship beat Allen 6–3. At the Masters Allen came past Mark Davis 6–2, but was then narrowly beaten 5–6 by Neil Robertson in a high-quality encounter in the quarter-finals. At the Snooker Shoot-Out, the tournament where each match is decided by a 10-minute frame, Allen won through to the final where he lost to Martin Gould. He suffered successive second round defeats at the German Masters and the Welsh Open to Barry Hawkins and Ding Junhui respectively, before he travelled to China in an attempt to defend his World Open title from 2012. Allen comfortably won every match he played at the event as he beat Ryan Day 5–2, Robert Milkins 5–2, Ricky Walden 5–1, John Higgins 6–2 and Matthew Stevens 10–4 in the final to capture his second ranking title. Allen's Antwerp Open win from earlier in the season helped him finish eighth on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit to qualify for the Finals where he lost 3–4 in the quarter-finals to Ding, who made a 147 and two further centuries during the match. Robertson beat Allen 5–1 in the second round of the China Open, and then Allen was the victim of a first round shock at the World Championship for a second year in a row as he lost to world number 30 Mark King 8–10, having led 8–6. Despite this, he climbed five spots in the rankings during the year to finish it ranked world number seven.

2013/2014 season

After losing in the first round of the opening two ranking events of the year, Allen won the minor-ranking Ruhr Open in Mülheim, Germany, by beating Ding Junhui 4–1 in the final. He also won the next European Tour event, the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup by battling past former world champions Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott in the quarter-finals and semis respectively. He beat Judd Trump 4–1 in the final to become the first player to win back-to-back events since they were introduced in 2010. In the last 16 of the UK Championship, Allen and Judd Trump both struggled for consistency during their match, with Allen giving Trump a hug when the pair missed a succession of easy balls. Allen went on to win 6–4 to reach his first major quarter-final of the season, where he lost 6–2 to Ricky Walden. Allen came close to recording a hat-trick of World Open titles as he won through to the semi-finals, but was beaten 6–4 by Shaun Murphy. His two titles earlier in the season meant Allen was the number one seed for the PTC Finals where he lost in the quarter-finals 4–2 against Gerard Greene. Allen was 9–7 behind against Neil Robertson after the second session of his last 16 match at the World Championship and lost all four frames in the next session to be defeated 13–7. Afterwards, Allen tipped Robertson for the title saying he had faced perfect snooker from the Australian.

2014/2015 season

In August 2014, he reached the final of the Riga Open but lost 4–3 to Mark Selby. Two weeks later Allen won the Paul Hunter Classic defeating Judd Trump 4–2 in the final. He advanced to the final of the Shanghai Masters where he was beaten 10–3 by Stuart Bingham. At the International Championship, Allen led Mark Williams 7–4 by producing some of his best snooker which included a total of eight breaks above 50. However, Williams fought back to lead 8–7 before Allen came from 71–0 down and requiring two snookers to steal the next frame 73–71. Williams missed a tricky final red in the decider to allow Allen in to reach the final. In this match with Ricky Walden, there were never more than two frames between the players until from 7–7 Walden raced away to take the last three frames and condemn Allen to a second ranking event final defeat of the season. Despite taking a 3–0 lead over Rod Lawler with two centuries, Allen was knocked out 6–4 in the third round of the UK Championship.

He eliminated John Higgins and Joe Perry both 6–4 to play in the semi-finals of the Masters for the second time. Allen won the opening two frames against Shaun Murphy, but then lost six frames in a row. The rest of the season would prove to be disappointing for Allen as he couldn't advance beyond the last 16 of any event and after he lost the last five frames against Barry Hawkins in the second round of the World Championship to be beaten 13–11, he stated that the match had summed up his year as he was great in patches but overall came up short. He had not been coached by Terry Griffiths this season and Allen said that he was hopeful his form would improve next year by working with him again.

2015/2016 season

Allen reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters with a 5–1 victory over Mark Davis, but was beaten 6–1 by Kyren Wilson. In the quarter-finals of the International Championship he compiled a 118 break to send the match into a deciding frame, but Thepchaiya Un-Nooh won it. Allen swept to the final of the Bulgarian Open by whitewashing Mark Williams 4–0 and did not drop a frame against Ryan Day either as he took home the title, his first in 15 months. The win qualified Allen for the Champion of Champions and he knocked out Barry Hawkins, Stephen Maguire and Wilson to reach another final, where he lost 10–5 to Neil Robertson. Robertson was also the victor when the pair met in the semi-finals of the Welsh Open, this time 6–4.

Allen came from 4–2 down against Shaun Murphy to win 6–4 and reach his first ranking event final of the season at the PTC Finals. He was 3–1 down to Ricky Walden, but a crucial run of six successive frames would be key as Allen won 10–6. He became the first Northern Irishman to win a ranking event in the UK since Dennis Taylor won the world title in 1985. Allen lost the opening seven frames against Kyren Wilson in the second round of the World Championship and was also 11–5 behind. He closed the gap to 11–9, but had left himself too much to do as he lost 13–9. Allen called the season a waste as he had not become the world champion.

2016/2017 season

Allen lost in the last 16 of the Paul Hunter Classic and the European Masters 4–3 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and 4–2 to Ronnie O'Sullivan respectively. He made three centuries to eliminate Mark Selby 6–5 at the inaugural China Championship 5–4, but was then heavily beaten 9–3 by John Higgins. A week later he defeated Selby by the same scoreline and stage at the Champion of Champions, before losing 6–2 to O'Sullivan.

Allen's only ranking event quarter-final this season came at his home event the Northern Ireland Open, but he lost 5–2 to Anthony Hamilton. He made the first 147 of his career during his 6–4 win over Rod Lawler in the second round of the UK Championship and then recovered from 4–0 down to eliminate Ryan Day 6–5. Allen was knocked out 6–3 by John Higgins in the fourth round, losing the final four frames of the match. He exacted some revenge by edging out Higgins 6–5 in the opening round of the Masters, before being defeated 6–2 by Marco Fu. He met Higgins again in the second round of the World Championship and, though Allen made four centuries and seven other breaks above 50, he was beaten 13–9.

2017/2018 season

Allen reached the final of the International Championship but lost to Selby 7-10. Later he progressed to the semi-finals in the World Open, where he was eliminated by Kyren Wilson 56, and the quarter-finals of the European Masters, losing 34 to Trump. However, Allen triumphed in the 2018 Masters beating Brecel, O'Sullivan and Higgins, before overcoming Kyren Wilson 10-7 in the final. Allen became the first player from Northern Ireland to win the trophy since 1987 when Dennis Taylor was victorious. Victory also marked Allen's first ever victory in a triple crown event. Speaking about his success afterwards, Allen said "It's been a long time coming, I was never sure it was going to come... And now that I've done it, hopefully this is the stepping stone to bigger and better things." In the 2018 World Championship, Allen exited in the quarter-finals, suffering a 6-13 defeat against Kyren Wilson.

2018/2019 season

Allen reached the final of the International Championship, where he triumphed over Robertson 10-5. Allen reached the 2018 UK Championship final after he won a deciding frame in his semi-final clash against Bingham. His opponent was the defending champion O'Sullivan, who overcame Allen 6-10. Allen then claimed his fifth ranking victory by winning the Scottish Open, securing victory with a 97 victory over Murphy in the final. Allen suffered a first round exit at the 2019 World Snooker Championship, losing 710 to Zhou Yuelong. He reached his highest ranking, fifth, in March 2019.

2019/2020 season

Allen could not reach a final in the first half of the season, he lost in all six semi-finals which he reached. In International Championship and Shanghai Masters Allen lost against Murphy, in English open against Selby and in Champion of champions lost to Trump. In the 2019 UK Championship, he suffered a whitewash from Maguire. Allen's attempt to regain his Scottish Open title in 2018 ended in the decider of the semi-final match against Jack Lisowski. At the World Championship, Allen equalled the record of making 5 centuries in a first round match against qualifier Jamie Clarke; however, he went on to lose the match against the Welsh number 89 - the lowest ranked player in the tournament- 8-10. He ended the season where he finished the last one, ranked number 5.

2020/2021 season

Allen's most notable achievement during the 2020/2021 season was winning the 2020 Champion of Champions. He defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan in a contentious quarter-final that saw O'Sullivan accusing Allen of deliberately standing in his line of sight and Allen accusing O'Sullivan of being a 'bully'. Allen went on to defeat Judd Trump in the semi-finals and Neil Robertson 10–6 in the final.

2021/2022 season

In the 2021/2022 season, Allen won his first Northern Ireland Open title, coming from 6–8 behind in the final to defeat John Higgins 9–8. Earlier in the tournament, in his qualifying round match against Si Jiahui, he made the second maximum break of his professional career. Allen was unable to make a deep run at any of the triple crown events during the season. At the 2021 UK Championship, he was defeated 56 by Gilbert in the last 32, and he lost in the first round of the 2022 Masters 56 to Trump. Allen exited the 2022 World Championship after a 413 loss to O'Sullivan in the last 16.

2022/2023 season

In October, Allen reached the final of the British Open, but was defeated 710 by Ryan Day. Later in the month, he successfully defended his crown at the Northern Ireland Open. He won eight consecutive frames during his 94 win over Zhou Yuelong in the final, at his home tournament in Belfast. Allen remarked afterwards, "You know how proud a Northern Irishman I am and how much I want to do well here for the fans. To win two years in a row is something." At the 2022 UK Championship, Allen knocked out Jordan Brown, Kyren Wilson, Sam Craigie and Jack Lisowski to reach the final where he won 10–7 against Ding, coming back from 1–6 behind. After his victory, Allen said "To beat Ding in the best of 19 frames match when being 6-1 down is one of my best-ever wins". Allen secured his third title of the season at the World Grand Prix, after triumphing over Trump 109 in the final. At the 2023 World Championship, Allen defeated Jak Jones 1310 in the quarter-final, but then, lost 1517 against Selby in the semi-final.

2023/2024 season

At the 2024 Masters, Allen beat Selby 65 in the quarter-finals, scoring a 147 maximum break and coming from 14 behind to win. In the semi-finals, he was beaten 36 by Carter. Allen won his eleventh ranking title at the Players Championship when he defeated Zhang Anda 108 in the final.

At the 2024 World Championship, Allen won his first round game 106 against Robbie Williams before losing his second round match to Higgins 1213.

2024/2025 season

At the 2024 UK Championship, Allen reached the semi-finals where he was beaten 56 by Hawkins.
In December, Allen won the non-ranking Riyadh Season Snooker Championship with a 51 victory in the final over Brecel. In January, Allen reached the semi-finals of the 2025 Masters where he was defeated 36 by Murphy. At the 2025 World Championship, Allen hit a 147 break in his second round match against Chris Wakelin. He became the eleventh player to do so at the Crucible, but despite this, it wasn't enough to prevent a 613 defeat and an exit from the tournament.

Rivalry

Allen has had a rivalry with Stuart Bingham. After Bingham squandered a 12–9 lead in the second round of the 2011 World Snooker Championship to lose 13–12 against Ding Junhui, Allen stated that Bingham had "no bottle" and admitted that there was history between the players and that they did not get on. Bingham responded by calling Allen an idiot and the tension between the two was clearly high as they were drawn to play each other in the second round of the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open. Before the match, Bingham said that he could not wait to play and that he had been waiting for it for a long time. He also stated that he did not care what Allen thought and it would give him more pleasure to beat him. Bingham fulfilled his pre-match words by defeating Allen 5–3 and also went on to win the tournament by coming back from 8–5 down to beat Mark Williams 9–8 in the final.

When the draw for the 2011 UK Championship was made it revealed that there was a potential quarter-final clash between the two. Anticipating the meeting, Bingham said that the "feud was not over" and that he would be staying away from Allen and not be speaking to him until they next played. The match-up was avoided, however, when Bingham lost in the first round to Marco Fu. Allen announced before the start of the 2013 World Championship that there was no problem between himself and Bingham since Bingham had proved him wrong by winning tournaments, and the two have had drinks and dinner together. After Bingham won the 2015 World Championship he said "Thanks to Mark Allen. He said I had no bottle and since then things have changed".

Allen also has a rivalry with Mark Joyce and has made no secret of his dislike for him, stating that: "I don't like Mark Joyce, basically he is a dick, on and off the table, I doubt even his mum likes him." He went on to accuse Joyce of gamesmanship during their match at the 2016 Northern Irish Open.

Controversies

After his first-round win at the 2011 UK Championship, Mark Allen called for WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn to resign, claiming Hearn had broken a promise not to change major tournament formats. Allen criticized the new best-of-11 format for the UK Championship, compared the atmosphere to darts, and said snooker tradition was "going to pot." He also swore during the press conference, leading to WPBSA disciplinary action for bringing the game into disrepute. Hearn dismissed Allen's remarks, calling them childish. After a meeting in January 2012, Hearn said they had a frank but friendly exchange, and noted Allen's increased prize money as a sign of progress. Allen was later fined £250.

In 2012, Allen was fined £1,000 by the WPBSA for criticizing conditions at the World Open in Haikou, China, calling them "horrendous."

Mark Allen was fined £11,000 after accusing Cao Yupeng of cheating following his defeat at the 2012 World Snooker Championship. He claimed Cao failed to admit a foul and attributed it to cultural differences, referencing past incidents with other Chinese and Hong Kong players. Barry Hearn said he was "speechless" and confirmed Allen would face disciplinary action. In addition to the fine, Allen was warned he could face a three-month suspension if he breached the rules again within six months and was required to complete media training.

Prior to the commencement of the 2013 World Snooker Championship, Allen renewed his criticisms of Barry Hearn. Allen voiced concerns that the World Snooker Tour's increasing emphasis on events in China was pricing players out of competing, pointing out that since Hearn took over the running of the game players now have to pay for their own flights, which can incur extra expenses of £10,000–£15,000 per season. Allen, who earned £278,000 over the course of the previous two years, further added he did not believe he was being fairly compensated for his services.

At the 2019 World Grand Prix, he conceded the match against Ali Carter in the fifth frame with 11 reds on the table after missing the yellow.

Personal life

In 2005, Allen began a relationship with women's world snooker champion Reanne Evans. They had a daughter, Lauren Sophie, born in May 2006, when both parents were 20 years old. Evans and Allen ended their relationship in 2008. Following his breakup with Evans, Allen fell into a deep depression and had periods where he did not leave his home. Allen and Evans have continued to be involved in legal disputes over child maintenance payments. In 2022, Allen noted that he no longer sees Lauren, but said "I still think about her all the time".

Allen met Kyla McGuigan in 2011 and the couple married on 10 May 2013. Kyla McGuigan's son from a previous relationship, Robbie McGuigan, became a noted amateur snooker player, winning under-16 and under-21 tournaments at an early age and achieving a 147 break in 2018 at age 13. Robbie McGuigan subsequently won the Northern Ireland Amateur Snooker Championship for three consecutive years from 2021–23. Allen and Kyla McGuigan had a daughter, Harleigh, born in 2017, but by May 2020 they had separated and were in the process of divorcing. In May 2021, Allen declared himself bankrupt. In 2022, after his divorce had been finalised, he became engaged to Aideen Cassidy, whom he met through mutual friends and got to know on long walks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allen is partially colour blind and sometimes has difficulty distinguishing between the red and brown balls. As his career progressed, he gained significant weight. By the 2022 World Snooker Championship, he weighed 19 stone (approx. 120 kg). Following an hour-long conversation with Ronnie O'Sullivan in a Sheffield hotel room after O'Sullivan had defeated him 13–4 in the second round of the tournament, Allen lost five stone (approx. 32 kg) in under five months.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Allen spent three to four hours a day delivering groceries and prescription medications to vulnerable people in Antrim. In 2024, he launched the Mark Allen Foundation, a charity organisation helping local people in need through fundraisers.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 19 (11 titles)

Minor-ranking finals: 6 (5 titles)

Non-ranking finals: 10 (6 titles)

Team finals: 2 (1 title)

Pro-am finals: 5 (4 titles)

Amateur finals: 6 (5 titles)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Mark
1986 births
Living people
Snooker players from Northern Ireland
Sportspeople from Antrim, County Antrim
People educated at Antrim Grammar School
Masters (snooker) champions
Competitors at the 2005 World Games
UK champions (snooker)
World number one snooker players