Allen waves ‘white flag’ at Welsh Open
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Mark Allen: beaten by ‘The Rocket’.
ANTRIM'S Mark Allen waved a 'white flag' of surrender in the final frame of his match against snooker's World Number One Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Welsh Open.
The local player lost 5-2 to 'The Rocket' in what was their second professional clash, and Ronnie claimed revenge following last year's World Championship defeat at the hands of Allen.
Both players were on top form weeks after sterling performances in the Masters tournament, and both had high hopes for the ranking Welsh Open.
However, Allen's plans were dashed by Ronnie, who was eventually beaten 6-4 by John Higgins, who won the contest on Sunday night.
Allen's quarter-final game started well with a 2-1 lead over his English rival, but O'Sullivan pulled out all the stops to fight back, and almost made snooker history in the fifth frame.
The Rocket came close to making a 147 break, which would have made him the first player ever to reach 10 maximums in professional events.
However, that record is for another day, as he missed the green at 122, but the game was in the bag for the World Number One, and as he tidied up the table, Allen jokingly waved a white handkerchief atop his cue in a sign of surrender. However, sporting O'Sullivan praised Antrim's top sporting star in a post match interview when he told reporters: " Mark is a top player and he will win lots of matches."
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