Mark Allen pockets £250,000 cheque but Northern Ireland ace 'wasn't thinking about that' on way to Riyadh title triumph
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen declared Riyadh trophy glory and a £250,000 winner’s cheque as “extra special” following success over Luca Brecel in the showpiece final.
Having defeated defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-final, Allen came out on top over Brecel by 5-1 to top the 12-player Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in Saudi Arabia.
It marked a first trophy for the Antrim cueman since his Players Championship success nine months back – with the £250,000 champion’s purse equal to his biggest career pay day, the 2022 UK Championship.
"To win an event with the top 10 players in the world is extra special," said Allen on the official WST website. "My safety was good all week, I scored well and made the right choices.
"I was nervous at the end but I held myself together.
"The matches here are short so if you can steal a few frames you can hurt your opponent.
"Winning the second frame tonight with a good break gave me the confidence to go on.
"I worked with Lee Walker (coach) at the UK Championship, I'm not sure yet where I will go with that…I am trying to play faster and enjoy it more.
"There was a time when I was winning matches and even winning tournaments but not enjoying the way I was playing and I knew something had to change.
"Partly the work with Lee and partly figuring it out for myself, as well as working with my psychologist, has helped me feel like everything is coming together.
"Next year I want to keep winning and enjoying my snooker.
"There are big tournaments coming up, leading up to Sheffield.
"The world title is the one missing from my CV and that's what I will keep working for.
"The money here is great but I wasn't thinking about that, I just try to win tournaments.
"You could see the difference here compared to when we came in March, crowds were better.
"It's like when we first went to China, it will take time to build up.
"As long as we keep coming back here and getting bigger crowds, it will be great for the players."
Victory marked a seventh title across the past 26 months for the world number four – offering no ranking points but the 38-year-old a significant boost in confidence heading into 2025.
He entered the Riyadh event having lost out at the semi-final stages of both the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship and BetVictor Scottish Open.
Brecel paid tribute to Allen as “really tough to play against”.
"I made a few mistakes but Mark is really tough to play against,” he said. “Overall, I feel I'm getting better and I'm really looking forward to next year."