Northern Ireland’s top potter was a doubt for this week’s ranking event, but he needed just under an hour to blow away China’s Liu Hongyu
Home favourite Mark Allen put a worrying family illness to one side as he kicked off his quest for a memorable hat-trick of Northern Ireland Open titles in style.
“I played pretty solid, I only missed two balls,” reflected Allen. “It was a good performance, they were the only mistakes I made. I’ve obviously got things happening in the background, but I went out with a whimper last season, so it was good to perform in front of a big crowd.” The ‘Rocket’ withdrew from this week’s ranking tournament due to medical reasons, the third tournament in a row the seven-time world champion has disappointed his army of fans.
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