Allen makes it to the semi-final
Mark Allen's pursuit to become the oldest first-time world snooker champion in the modern era gained momentum as he secured a 13-11 victory over Barry Hawkins at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, advancing to the semi-finals.
The 40-year-old Northern Irish player is aiming to complete snooker's prestigious Triple Crown, having previously won the UK Championship and the Masters. Despite 19 prior attempts, the sport's most coveted title has eluded him until now, with this win marking only his third appearance in the tournament's last four.
After resuming the match at 8-8, Allen captured the first two frames of Wednesday morning's session. However, Hawkins, the 2013 finalist, responded with breaks of 70 and 83, leveling the contest once again. The players exchanged frames until Allen produced his third century break in a high-quality match to take a 12-11 lead.
In a tense final frame, Allen gained control with a 59-point break and secured his progression after Hawkins underhit an attempted snooker on the pink ball, moments after fluking a red that had given him a chance to force a deciding frame.
"Relief more than anything. Barry scored really well, he had 12 breaks over 50 which is a ridiculous level and to come out on top shows where my game is as well. I thought the second session was one of the best I have ever been involved in, it was really high-quality snooker. My heart sank when he fluked that red - I'm over the moon to get over the line. If you could have seen inner Mark when he didn't reach the pink, he was doing somersaults and then I potted a good yellow. I have won everything else, why can't I win this? I am thinking about it because I come here every year thinking I can win it for the first time."
Allen will next face either Wu Yize or Hossein Vafaei in a best-of-33 frames match starting Thursday at 19:00 BST.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the arena, Neil Robertson maintained his two-frame overnight lead against John Higgins after Wednesday's first session and will enter the final quarter-final session at 19:00 BST with a 9-7 advantage.
Robertson extended his lead to 6-3 by winning the opening frame of the day, but Higgins responded with a series of significant breaks—51, 86, and 126—to level the match. The Australian, whose sole Crucible title came in 2010, then compiled breaks of 60 and 95 to win three consecutive frames before Higgins countered with an 80, setting up a compelling conclusion.
'What a way to lose'
If Allen secures the world title, he will become the oldest first-time winner in the modern era, surpassing Stuart Bingham, who won in 2015 at 38 years and 343 days old. At 47, Hawkins would have been the oldest first-time champion but instead faced a disappointing end to a remarkable match where he recorded 10 half-century breaks and two centuries.
"The big difference was I lost a couple of frames where I had the balls at my mercy. [It was] unforgiveable not reaching the pink. It was a horrible way to go I was gutted. What a way to lose. Knowing you have played an absolute terrible shot. It was a sinking feeling after trying so hard in a long match like that."
