MARK Allen will face Mark Selby in the semi-final of the Unibet British Open on Saturday evening (7pm) after beating world number one Judd Trump 5-3 in Cheltenham on Friday evening.
The world number three got over the line in a tense encounter after Trump had battled back from 4-1 down to 4-3, a break of 50 giving the Antrim man the foundation to close the game out in frame eight.
Trump did have the consolation of becoming the third player in history to reach 1000 century breaks, courtesy of his 101 which levelled the match at 1-1.
That quickfire success was in contrast to the attritional first frame, which Allen took after a prolonged battle on the yellow which lasted almost half-an-hour.
Trump then looked set to hit the front in frame three as he responded to Allen’s early 38 with a 62, but he broke down on the last red, allowing Allen to move back ahead with a last red and colours clearance.
Allen dominated the next two frames and a 64 in frame five moved him within one of victory, but Trump dug in with a 92 to win frame six, and then took an error-strewn frame seven as well to pile the pressure on.
However, Allen’s early half-century was enough to make frame eight comfortable for him and his relief at clinching victory was tinged with a touch of frustration at not doing it earlier.
‘’I’m not happy that I didn’t close it out earlier,’’ said the Antrim man.
‘’I should and could have won 5-1 or 5-2 but any win against Judd I would have to be happy with. I really feel my game is in good shape and I am close to my best right now.’’
