Allen Aims to Bounce Back at World Championships

Mark Allen has vowed to “put right” what he describes as his worst season performance-wise in years by making a major impression at this year’s World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The Northern Ireland player, who turned 40 this season, admits his standard of play has been disappointing despite grinding out results in several tournaments. Allen won the English Open and reached the semi-final stage of four other ranking events but feels he has not played to his potential.

“It’s been a strange season, I won the English Open and have been in those other semi-finals, but I feel like I’ve been playing really, really poorly,” Allen said. “It has probably been my worst season performance wise for a long time but I’ve still ground out results.”

Allen will begin his World Championship bid with a first-round match against China’s Zhang Anda, which starts on Saturday morning and finishes on Sunday. Despite early exits in the past two years at the Crucible, including round-two losses, the 40-year-old is determined to go all the way this year.

Having previously won the Masters in 2018 and the UK Championship in 2022, Allen sees the World Championship title as the final piece needed to complete snooker’s Triple Crown. He is taking inspiration from fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who completed golf’s career Grand Slam last year after a long wait.

“You pot those balls as a kid and you want to pot them to be World champion, with the greatest respect to the tournaments I have won, you don’t do it to win those, it is for World Championships so I can relate a lot to what Rory went through all those years,” Allen told BBC Sport NI. “He broke his duck last year so hopefully I can do it this year.”

Allen admits he has had a good career one he believes most would snap their hand off for, but insists he is always judged on major events. “I have only won the UK (Championship) and the Masters which is great, but it is all about the World Championships. If I look back on my career and haven’t won a world title, I’ll be very disappointed.”

The closest Allen has come to victory at the Crucible Theatre is semi-final exits in 2009 and 2023. Despite bemoaning his standard of play for much of the campaign, he remains focused on using the next 17 days at the Worlds to put his season right.

“I’ve got a good opportunity to put it right over these next 17 days and what a time it would be to do it,” Allen added. Having won 12 ranking titles in his illustrious career so far, the missing World Championship crown has prevented him from completing snooker’s Triple Crown Series.