Mark Allen through to quarter-finals at Northern Ireland Open
Home hero Mark Allen remains on course for a third Northern Ireland Open title after he dispatched Aaron Hill 4-1 at the Waterfont Hall to reach the quarter-finals on Thursday.
In a contest pitching together the number one players from either side of the Irish border, former world number one Allen started in style with a break of 137 to take the first frame.
Youngster Hill, one of the hottest properties in the snooker world right now, levelled up with the help of a 65 break and was close to going in front before Allen nicked frame three on the final black.
Efforts of 53 and 69 aided Allen in depositing the next two frames to get over the line and maintain his 100% record on this season’s Home Nations Series - he has now won nine out of nine matches.
Reigning English Open champion Allen had the luxury of winning by a comfortable margin; his previous seven victories on the Series had all come via a deciding frame.
“I know more than most how dangerous Aaron can be, I practiced with a lot and I’ve a lot of time for him,” Allen told the World Snooker Tour.
“I started the match well and settled in – 137 I think it was – and that puts Aaron the back foot straightaway and it’s a big match for him.
“I was happy to do that, but then he came out firing and probably should have went 2-1 up but I managed to pinch that frame on the black.
“I think that’s what probably turned the match for me; he sort of let his head drop a little bit and I played some good stuff in the last few frames.”
Meanwhile, record four-time Northern Ireland Open champion Judd Trump also won 4-1 against Gary Wilson.
Trump struggled with the playing conditions on Tuesday night as he top scored with just 53 during his last 32 win over Jackson Page. However, the world number one was more of his free-flowing self in his latest assignment as he defeated Wilson.
'The Ace in the Pack' registered a 132 in the opening frame before a 95 in frame three helped him establish a 3-0 lead.
Three-time Home Nations Series event winner Wilson avoided the whitewash, but an 83 clearance in frame five secured Trump's progression and a slice of green baize revenge having been eliminated from August's Wuhan Open by Wilson at the last 16 stage.
Trump boasts a sensational record in competition. He has now reached at least the quarter-finals in seven of the last eight years, and has now won 41 of his last 44 matches.
Despite the relatively comfortable win, though, Trump was critical of his display when speaking with TNT Sports after the match.
"I'm happy I won, but it wasn't a good performance" said the 36-year-old Englishman.
"I think Gary struggled and sometimes it's difficult when you can see your opponent struggling. He had no momentum, so it was just about holding myself together.
"Sometimes it kind of drags you down. I got off to a good start and there were some missed balls after that, but I'm happy with the win."
Having not lifted a trophy on the World Snooker Tour since the start of last December at the UK Championship, Trump will be hoping to draw upon his happy memories of Belfast over the coming days and end his near 11-month wait for a title.
This will be Trump's first ranking event quarter-final of the season, at his sixth attempt, and he admitted that those early round losses in recent months have left him rusty.
"I'm about 99% off. I'm very, very, very far from playing my best.
"The sharpness when you win matches, you're really sharp, when you don't go all the way in tournaments, you have longer breaks. You have a week, two weeks off all the time and you're not quite match sharp.
"A few little details here and there, which you need to get deeper into tournaments. It's that little bit of sharpness, little bit of confidence out there I'm missing at the moment."
Next up for Trump is four-time world champion John Higgins who racked up a quartet of half-century breaks in a 4-1 elimination of Si Jiahui, while Allen will face the winner of Thursday evening’s clash between fellow Antrim man Jordan Brown and Shaun Murphy.
Elsewhere during the afternoon session in Belfast, world number 22 Tom Ford posted breaks of 65, 53, 52 and 66 in a 4-2 victory over Yuan Sijun.
Reigning Shoot Out champion Ford will face Zhou Yuelong in the last eight on Friday after Zhou received a walkover due to Ali Carter withdrawing from the event because of personal reasons.
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