MARK Allen had to dig deep to reach the last 32 of the BetVictor English Open at the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood yesterday.
Allen, who started the season ranked number one in the world, has yet to really fire over the first few months and was staring at another early exit as a 2-0 lead became a 3-2 deficit.
After a break of 88 had given him that early cushion, his Chinese opponent, ranked number 71 in the world, rattled off three frames with breaks of 65, 76 and 69.
But Allen, who had managed just six points in those frames, levelled with a run of 67 and an early break of 44 in the decider gave him a cushion to clinch the frame.
He now faces Lyu Haotian of China, who beat Dominic Dale 4-2.
Allen’s club-mates Robbie McGuigan and Jordan Brown both exited at their first hurdle, with rookie McGuigan losing 4-2 to Mitchell Mann and world number 46 Brown losing by the same score to Andrew Pagett.
Cork’s Aaron Hill enjoyed an opening 4-2 win over Lei Peifan, before losing 4-2 to four-times world champion Mark Selby.
