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Allen Standsโ Alone: Irish Hopes for UK Snooker Glory Rest on His Shoulders
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Published: November 15, 2023
York, England – Mark Allen is set to โbe the sole Irishโ representative at the prestigious Victorian Plumbingโ UK Snooker Championship,โค commencing at the Barbican in York this Saturday. โThe tournament will proceed โฃwithout โthe support of his countrymen after a series โof qualifying round โคdefeats thisโ week.
Irish Players Fall in Qualifying Rounds
Allen’s Antrim club-mates, Robbie โMcGuigan and Jordan Brown, both saw their campaigns endโ in qualifying round two on Monday.Cork’s Hill also suffered elimination,losing his first match in round three โคon Tuesday.
Jordan Brown’s grueling โcontest against 14-year-old Michal szubarczyk wasโฃ a particularly long affair, stretching from Monday morning into โthe โคlate evening. Ultimately, the young Polish player secured a 6-4 victory, needing just โone frame to complete theโค win.
Despiteโ the loss, Brown showcased his โskill with the highest break of the match – a remarkable 135 total clearance in frame seven, demonstrating his continued form after reaching the quarter-finals of theโ recent BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
However, Szubarczyk’s momentum was short-lived, as he fell to a 6-3 defeat against Noppon Saengkham in Tuesday’s third round.
McGuigan had previously enjoyed success,winning his opening โmatch against Oliver Sykes on Sunday. Heโ mountedโค a comeback from 4-2 โขdown to level his โmatch againstโค Allan Taylor, butโค taylor ultimately prevailedโค with a 6-4 victory.
Hill, currently ranked 24th on the one-year ranking โขlist, also faced a tough opponentโค in China’s Long Zehuang.โค zehuang dominated the match,securing a 6-1 win with extraordinary breaks of 4,78,57,53,and 51.
The UK Championship isโ one of the ‘triple Crown’ events,โค alongside the Masters and the Worldโ Championship, and holds immense prestigeโ within the sport.
| Player | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hill | 24 |
| Mark Allen | (Rank not specified in source) |
Allen’s Path Forward
All eyes will now be on Mark Allen as he represents โฃIreland in the main โstagesโ ofโ the UK Championship. He will be hoping to capitalize on the opportunity and deliver a strong performance at the Barbican.