Mark Allen says he "got what I deserved" after losing marathon UK Championship semi-final against Barry Hawkins
Mark Allen held his hands up after losing a marathon semi-final against Barry Hawkins in the UK Championship and said he “got what I deserved”.
Hawkins battled back to beat Northern Ireland’s Allen 6-5 and secure his place in the final against Judd Trump after he had trailed by 4-2 and 5-4.
A gruelling contest went to a deciding frame, with Hawkins prevailing against the Antrim man in a five-hour battle that was only decided shortly before 1am in the early hours of Sunday.
‘The Pistol’ said a failure to capitalise on his chances cost him victory and described his defeat as “agonising”.
“I got what I deserved in the end,” he said.
“I didn’t take advantage of the chances I had, and I had quite a few.
“It’s agonising because I got so close, despite playing poorly. Barry was the better player tonight.
“Only my grit and determination gave me a chance towards the end, but the right person won.
“Losing any Triple Crown semi-final is always hard to take, but I think I’ve turned the corner this week. It’s disappointing now, but there are plenty of positives.”
Hawkins, who came through qualifying and beat reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan on his way to the last four, took the opening frame against world number three Allen.
Allen hit back to win four of the next five frames, only for breaks of 57 and 84 to draw Hawkins level.
The ninth frame saw Allen edge ahead again, but Hawkins levelled with the only century break of the match to clinch victory.
Allen, meanwhile, later took to X social media to hit out at rival Shaun Murphy’s commentary of the semi-final.
Murphy had been knocked out of the tournament by Hawkins in the previous round.
In the latest incident in a long-running feud between the pair, Murphy suggested Allen was taking lengthy periods in between shots as a deliberate ploy to anger his opponent.
Posting on X, world number three Allen said Murphy should “leave personal feelings” out of his commentary after the remarks.
“Not to be in this year's UK Championships,” Allen said. “The better player on the day won.
“Good luck to both Judd and Barry in the final…. For those criticising…. I always give 100%, it might not be pretty at times but I’m trying my best. Some other players could learn from it.
“And as for Shaun in comms. He’s absolutely entitled to his opinion on things but perhaps best to leave personal feelings out of the commentary box in future. All because I called out some of his recent BS.”
Allen and Murphy previously butted heads over playing conditions at October’s British Open, with the Ulsterman saying he questions the judgement and “sanity” of people who take Murphy’s comments seriously.
Ahead of the Scottish Open in 2022, Murphy complained about back, neck and shoulder pain, with Allen retorting “Must be that chip on your shoulder doing the damage”.