By Elliott West
“I’m happier in my appearance. I don’t want to do bad things to myself when I look in the mirror”.
Mark Allen
Introduction
Mark Allen has always been a player that I have greatly admired. This gritty and outspoken snooker player from Northern Ireland doesn’t hold back on or off the table and in private is probably one of the warmest and most generous men you could meet. A twice winner of the World Open in 2012 and 2013, the International Championship in 2017 and 2018, the 2018 Scottish Open and the 2021 Northern Ireland Open, Allen looks favourite to win this year’s British Open with bookmakers shortening his odds to 10/11. He has already beaten Stuart Carrington 4-0, Li Hang 4-1, Gary Wilson 4-2, Judd Trump 4-3 and Mark Selby 5-3. He now faces Noppon Saengkham in the semi-finals at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
Exciting Times
With himself, Ryan Day, Noppon Saengkham and Robbie Williams still in the race for the title after a whole host of top 16 players failed to get to the latter stages of this tournament, Allen definitely had the experience and calibre to lift this title on Sunday. Despite previous woes of child maintenance to his previous partner Reanne Evans and bankruptcy, Mark has knuckled and started producing the form that we all know he is capable of. He also looks a shadow of his former self after losing four stones in five months. The 36-year-old originally weighed 19 stone, largely down to excessive drinking and eating. This wake-up call came after a friend warned him that he may not alive if he continued his excessive lifestyle to walk his daughter Harleigh down the aisle for her wedding. A warning that was one that he needed and now with a slimmer belly and thanks to a pep talk with Ronnie O’Sullivan, his alignment on the snooker table has completely transformed.
“One of my very closest friends said to me: ‘If you keep going the way you’re going Mark, you won’t be here to walk Harleigh down the aisle.’ That was tough to hear but probably what I needed to hear.”
Mark Allen
It is definitely working because earlier this week he hit the headlines for all the right reasons. His stunning five-cushion escape during his match with Li Hang has been lauded as the shot of the season and to beat an on-form Mark Selby is impressive especially as he was at the top of his game, confident after notching up his fourth maximum break in his match against Jack Lisowski. Allen also rattled off a 143 break in this match and closed out the 5-3 win with a 126 break.
Allen is attempting to seize his seventh professional title if he wins the British Open but he isn’t being complacent and knows that there can still be a bogeyman in the field of four. Noppon is playing great snooker at the moment and won’t be an easy opponent. He is now up to 38th in the rankings and doesn’t seem to be phased by playing the top 16 players. An Asian and World Under-21 champion, this Thai player is an excellent break builder, and long ball potter and is constantly improving with his safety play.
Social Media
Mark Allen has often been outspoken on his Twitter account and hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind when he feels errors and injustices have been committed in snooker. He was rather vocal when Barry Hearn was in charge of the snooker ship, once taping his mouth with gaffer tape to supposedly stop himself from saying something that he could be potentially fined for by the WPBSA, snooker’s governing body. His account description, describes him as a professional snooker player who loves golf, watching Tiger Woods and sampling the occasional Smirnoff and he recently made his point about his views on the decision to reward professional players with a basic salary due to the cost of living crisis. He also wants to see completely random draws in snooker and doesn’t believe it will be fair until that happens. A better ranking points system is also required. When others on Twitter agreed with him, his retort was ‘Preaching to the choir. I have been saying this for a long time’.
Afterthoughts
Mark Allen should definitely be rated as one of the greatest snooker players that have come out of Northern Ireland. He joins the likes of Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor who were dogged and determined, who never cracked when the chips were down and always had their eye on the prize even in the heat of battle. Now ranked 14th in the world rankings, Mark had his highest ranking of 4th in June 2020 and has rightly been nicknamed ‘The Pistol’ because even when his trigger is cocked, his powder is never dry. A player who definitely has the potential to win several World Championships and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t become a Triple Crown winner in the coming years.
