Snooker Players In Profile: Mark Allen

Northern Irish professional snooker player Mark Allen hails from Antrim. He became a professional the year after winning the World Amateur Championship in 2003. It only took him three seasons to crack the top 16. Allen was eventually given the nickname, The Pistol.

Allen has produced over 550 century breaks in his career. He has made two maximum breaks, in 2016 and 2021. He is still playing today, so you should check out the latest snooker odds for his matches.

In this article, we will go into further detail on who Mark Allen is in the world of snooker.

Early Career

Allen thought about playing football when he was younger and went on tryouts with Nottingham Forest and  Sheffield Wednesday before focusing on snooker. 

He represented the Fountain Club in Antrim and won the Northern Ireland U14 and U16 championships in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, he won the Irish U16, U18, and U19 championships in a single weekend, making him the first person to accomplish this feat. 

By the time he was 16 years old, he had made his maiden maximum break and won the Golden Waistcoat, an international competition for U19 players.

In 2003, he participated in the Challenge Tour to launch his professional career. Allen then became fully professional in 2004.

2006/2007 Session

He initially qualified for the World Championship in March 2007 by winning three matches, the last of which was a 10-4 victory over Robert Milkins. 

At the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in April 2007, Allen defeated previous world champion Ken Doherty 10-7 in the first round before falling to Matthew Stevens 9-13. His first appearance in the tournament’s last 16 propelled him towards the top 32 rankings.

2009/2010 Season

After an impressive previous season, Allen returned to the Crucible, where he won his first match against Martin Gould. In the second round, he played Ronnie O’Sullivan; unfazed by his rival’s reputation. Allen defeated the reigning champion 13-11 to advance to the 2009 World Championship quarterfinals. 

He then overcame Ryan Day but lost to John Higgins 13-17 despite a valiant comeback from 3-13 down.

Allen earned his first professional match, the 2009 Jiangsu Classic, shortly after his World Championship run, defeating local favorite Ding Junhui 6-0 in the final.

Ranking And Performance 

There have been a lot of ups and downs throughout Allen’s career so far. You should keep an eye on Fanduel latest sports picks, to see how Allen is doing this season.

When it comes to rankings, Allen started to make the top 16 from 2008 onwards. Even today, he is considered one of the top 16 players in the world. His best ranking comes from the 2020/2021 season, where he was no.5. Yet, in the past he has also been no. 12, 7, and 9.

Overall, Mark Allen has made it to 17 finals, and won 9 of those titles. Some of the titles he has won include the World Open (2012 and 2013), Scottish Open (2018), and the World Grand Prix (2023).

In addition to this, Allen has seen success in non-ranking games. He has won the Masters in 2018 and Champion of Champions in 2020. 

Playing Style

Allen is a left-handed player, and his greatest break to date is a 146, which he has accomplished twice. Once during the 2007 UK Championship qualifying rounds and once at the 2010 World Snooker Championship. 

He rarely enters the group of reds early in a break. Instead, preferring to pick out free reds to build a lead, which is a touch unconventional in today’s game.

Rivalries 

It is known that Mark Allen is quite an outspoken player and doesn’t shy away with what he thinks of other players. 

For a long time there was a rivalry between Allen and Stuart Bingham. This was due to the fact that Allen claimed that Bingham had no bottle. Tension between the two players lasted for a couple of years. Yet, it was revealed in 2013 by Allen and Bingham that the feud was now over and that Allen’s words were the motivation Bingham needed. 

Alongside Bingham, Allen continues to have a rivalry with Mark Joyce. In fact, Allen has accused Joyce of trying to sabotage their game during the Northern Irish Open in 2016. Thus fans can expect a heated match when these two face one another. 

Yet, in the past Allen has also been accused of sabotage of games. The main one being during his match with Ronnie O’Sullivan during the 2020 Champion of Champions. 

Final Thoughts

Mark Allen, otherwise known as the pistol, has had a great snooker career. Even today, he is considered one of the top players that you should keep an eye out for. He has had lots of success, but it appears at the moment he has really hit his stride. 

While he may be an outspoken player off the table, on the table his skill speaks for itself. We hope this article has been helpful and given you a deeper understanding on who Mark Allen is and why he is such a big name in snooker.