'I don’t think I’d be able to feel my hands!' - Mark Allen on the potential pressure of facing a $1million pot at Riyadh Season Snooker Championship
Mark Allen admits “I don’t think I’d be able to feel my hands” if faced with the opportunity of a $1million pot at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, where he will get his tournament underway on Thursday against Mark Selby.
The star-studded competition is being staged in Riyadh for the second time as the world’s top-10 ranked players fight it out for prize money – no ranking points are available – which could be further boosted by the ‘golden ball’.
Starting the frame resting against the baulk cushion, the gold ball can only be potted after a player completes a 147 break – the highest break in snooker – and the financial reward for completing the feat has been raised to a mammoth $1million from $500,000 last time out.
John Higgins came closest in the previous edition, potting 15 consecutive red and blacks before missing the yellow ball when on a break of 120.
The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship tournament winner will take home £250,000 – Ronnie O’Sullivan is defending champion – while the runner-up banks £125,000.
Northern Ireland’s Allen progressed into the last-four of the inaugural competition, beating Selby in the quarter-final before suffering a semi-final defeat to Luca Brecel, and the 38-year-old feels there’s only one player who could stand up to the pressure of a golden pot.
“If anyone can pot that along that baulk cushion for a million dollars then they deserve it,” Allen told SportsBoom. “I genuinely think if they want to see a bit of history with the 167 then they should put it somewhere else.
“Outside of maybe Ronnie, I don’t know who could pot that ball for a million. It’s a massive amount of money.
“I know John had a chance last year and he said his hands and legs were shaking because it was a lot of money.
“You’re talking about a four-time world champion and one of the greatest ever. If he’s talking like that, what chance have the rest of us got.
“They could put it somewhere more sensible and then a lot more people would go for it I think.
“Because of where it is, a lot of people would be put off by it straightaway.
“For argument’s sake if people knew it was going on the blue spot once you pot the blue and pink it would make it a bit more exciting.
“I don’t think I’d be able to feel my hands! I’d just be trying to get the cue through as best I can and be hoping for the best really.
“It’s got people talking. We’re talking about it now. It’s a clever thing they’ve done for the event.
“The event itself is a great event, but that bonus is a major talking point.”