Sport

Mark Allen reaches Champion of Champions semi-finals after beating Jak Jones

Antrim man fought from three frames down against World Championship runner-up

Mark Allen in action against Oliver Lines at The NI Open snooker in the  Waterfront in Belfast.
PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
Mark Allen came from three frames down to beat Jak Jones and book his place in the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions event PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN

Defending champion Mark Allen hit back from three frames down to beat Jak Jones and book his place in the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions event in Bolton.

Allen had looked set for a quick exit with Jones poised to stretch his lead to 4-0, but a simple missed red changed the course of the match and saw the Antrim man recover to wrap up a 6-4 win.

Jones, this year’s shock World Championship runner-up, had looked on course for a comprehensive win after soaring into a 3-0 lead, including a break of 137 in the third frame to assume full control.

But a shocking miss in frame four turned the match on its head after Allen had initially fluffed his chance of making a maximum.

Having potted nine reds and blacks, Allen jawed a red to the middle, and Jones was poised to capitalise until he missed a straightforward final red on a break of 38.

With the miss appearing to play on the Welshman’s mind, Allen pounced with breaks of 64 and 104 to pull level, before two further half-centuries earned him five frames in a row and left him one from victory at 5-3.

Jones stopped the rot in style with his second century, a clearance of 104, to pull back to 5-4, but Allen got in first in the next and a break of 41 paved the way for his passage into the semi-finals.

Earlier on Monday, both Allen and Jones had fired two centuries apiece in 4-2 first-round wins over Igor Figueiredo and Gary Wilson respectively.