Ding Junhui’s next opponent at the 12bet.com UK Championship is Northern Ireland’s young hot-shot Mark Allen.
The 24-year-old Allen, who has yet to win a full ranking tournament, once beat China’s No1 player 6-0 in the final of the Jiangsu Classic event in Wuxi.
But Ding, the defending UK champion and recent runner-up in the Asian Games snooker tournament, is a much tougher proposition over longer matches and the best of 17 frames.
And the match, which starts on Monday night, is likely to be a high-quality shootout that will provide plenty of entertainment for the crowd.
In his spare time Allen is a formidable golfer, with a handicap of just five, and enjoys spending time on the many beautiful courses in his homeland.
And Allen admits he has been inspired by the exploits of his countrymen Rory McIlroy, tipped to be golf’s next superstar, and Graeme McDowell, who stunned the USA by winning the US Open this year.
Allen, who beat England’s Tom Ford in the first round, said: “Listen, for someone from a small country like Northern Ireland seeing Graeme McDowell winning the US Open.
“I thought it might be race between me and Rory McIlroy who won a Major title in our respective sports, but Graeme beat us both to it.
“The fact that Graeme also then hold the winning putt in the Ryder Cup, and with Rory set to be a superstar, it is a great time for our country.”
Northern Ireland has a strong tradition for snooker, though they have not had world champions since Alex Higgins in 1982, and Dennis Taylor in 1985.
Allen said: “We need someone in snooker again, and hopefully it’s me, as it’s long overdue.
“I do play for myself No1, you have to, and if I then make my country proud as well then that is fantastic.
“I haven’t met the two golfers yet, I would love to meet them and pick their brains about sacrifices they have made and how they handle all the pressures.
“If I could learn anything from them, it would stand me in good stead.
“I haven’t played Ding that much, he beat me at the Grand Prix one year. But he is one of the best players in the world.
“He has won this tournament twice, and for someone so young that is phenomenal.
“But he is better when he gets in front, so the start of the match is very important.”
2 comments:
Ding Junhui was left devastated after failing to defend his 12BET.com UK Championship crown.
The 23-year-old, now based in Sheffield, England but originally from Jiangsu province, was at one stage 6-1 behind in the first session against Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen.
But China’s No1 player mounted a brave fight-back on Tuesday night at the Telford International Centre only to lose 9-8 in a thrilling match.
Ding had won the title last year by beating three-time world champion John Higgins in the final.
Emerging 6-2 behind at the start of the day’s play, Ding won the first three frames including a century break of 103 to close to 6-4.
And a dramatic 11th frame saw Ding level the points at 58-58 before potting the re-spotted black when Allen left it over a middle pocket.
The pair traded frames after Ding levelled at 7-7 – but Allen proved the stronger in the decider to reach the quarter-finals as he seeks his first ever ranking title.
Ding said: “I am very disappointed at losing. I lost the first four frames of the match, and I wasn’t playing at all well at that time.
“I wasn’t feeling bad, it was just my head wasn’t right and I wasn’t thinking well.
“I always feel strong and think I can win the match, and I managed to put Mark under some pressure in the last few frames.
“It was very hard to lose like that, I made a big mistake on the black in the final frame, I took my eye off it and was thinking about the white going into the pack.
“I did everything I could to defend my title, but some people are playing very well this week.
“I gave it everything, but he played better than me and I just wasn’t good enough today.”
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