Five-time ranking event winner Mark Allen has been one of snooker’s top contenders via his residence in the Top 16 for over a decade, as he continues to play at his top level. Otherwise known as ‘The Pistol’ for his quick-draw, snappy cue action, Allen has developed an upfront style and character throughout his professional career that many are drawn towards.
Allen turned professional in 2005 after an already successful young and amateur commencement to his snooker career. This included a win of the World Amateur Championship in the prior year as well as further successes from his ventures at a very young age. His young talents were well developed as Allen was able to reach the prestigious Top 16 within a few seasons of turning professional. Despite not winning any professional events yet at this stage, it was achieved by Allen progressively bettering the distances he would reach in tournaments.
This involved his first qualifications for the World Championship in 2007 and 2008 for which he has been a top seed ever since. Allen’s third year at the Crucible in 2009 was his best attempt at winning the big one as he reached the semi-finals. His endeavour that year included victory over defending champion, Ronnie O’Sullivan in the second round, but was denied a trip to the final by fellow Class of ’92 compatriot, John Higgins. Unfortunately, Allen has yet to reach further than the semi-final stage of the WSC…yet.
The turn of the decade saw Allen reach glory and acclaim as he started to reach more quarters and semi-finals. His first shot at ranking gold came at the 2011 UK Championship as he squared off against the inventor of naughty snooker in his infancy, Judd Trump. It was a closely fought match which included an inspiring comeback by Allen, but was sadly denied the Triple Crown that year. However, Allen was able to secure his first ranking title that season with an impressive performance at the World Open in 2012. Even more remarkably, Allen was able to successfully defend his maiden ranking title the following year.
In 2016, Allen was able to add the PTC (Players Tour Championship) to his list of accolades although, it wasn’t until late 2017-18 where we saw a significant step-up in form and match play. Allen’s potting and break-building had noticeably improved, causing more problems for those that competed against him (including those at the very top).
Allen was able to start 2018 strongly with his successful completion of the Masters, which included victories over Class of ’92 rivals, O’Sullivan and Higgins. He was then able to continue his form through to next season as he claimed the International Championship to further improve his ranking position and reputation as a credible threat. Allen just came shy of winning the UKC where he lost out to O’Sullivan in a historic day to remember. While this was an incredibly strong performance at York, Allen was somehow able to travel to Scotland the very next day to continue playing the whole week as he won his fifth ranking title with the Scottish Open.
Through a hard-working ethic and mind-set to be among the very best, Allen has been able to forge his way to the top level of snooker where he can see the fruits of his labour. Still realising that he has some more work to do, Allen continues to strive towards the titles that still elude him, as The Pistol still has some ammunition in the chamber.
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