Mark Allen rallied from 6-1 down to beat Ding Junhui 10-7 in the UK Championship final in York; Northern Irishman takes eighth position and second Triple Crown trophy after 2018 Masters; Ding missed out on a place in the 2023 Masters while fellow Chinese player Yan Bingtao is still in contention
Last Updated: 21/11/22 7:02am
Mark Allen recovered from 6-1 down to beat Ding Junhui 10-7 to win the UK Championship in York.
Mark Allen produced a stunning comeback to defeat Ding Junhui 10-7 in the final of the UK Championship and deny his opponent a place in January’s prestigious Masters event at Alexandra Palace.
Allen trailed 6-1 on Sunday afternoon in York but rallied to win seven frames on the spin to open up an 8-6 lead before Ding won in the 15th set.
The 36-year-old picked up the winner’s check for $250,000 and his second career title, after winning his home tournament, the Northern Ireland Open, in October with a 9-4 victory over Zhou Yuelong.
Allen battled back from 5-3 down to beat Jack Lisowski 6-5 on the last black in Saturday’s major semi-final and showed his frustration a day later when he recovered from a shock defeat by Ding.
The Ulsterman secured his eighth title and second Triple Crown trophy, after winning the 2018 edition of The Masters.
Ding needed to win the UK tournament to break into the world’s top 16 and reach next year’s Masters, so his defeat means fellow Chinese player Yan Bingtao remains in his place in the tournament.
Ding needed to win the UK Championship to qualify for January’s Masters at Alexandra Palace
Speaking after his victory, Allen said: “I don’t know how I’ve done. I haven’t played very well every week.
“I struggled from the start and Ding punished me a lot. I just cut the last frame (of the evening section).
“I don’t know what happened (in the evening). The first frame was as good a rest as I had been all day – and suddenly I felt very good.
“I was struggling but I was trying to stay as confident as possible in my seat, which I have been working really hard on. I just said to myself ‘can I win the next frame?’ and my answer was always ‘yes.’
Ding, who swept Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 in the quarter-finals earlier in the week, looked unlikely to take part in a fourth UK Championship as he dominated the evening session.
However, breaks of 79, 60, 93, 132, 56, 59 and 109 saw Allen win seven frames in relief before Ding stopped the rot with a break of 105, his fourth in the tournament, to reduce the deficit to 8-7.
Allen, however, was not to be denied, taking the 16th frame and placing 17th after just over 40 minutes to continue a fine season in which he also reached the final of the British Open.
Allen can now look forward to The Masters, where he will face Barry Hawkins in the first round.
The Masters (January 8-15), first draw
- Mark Selby (ENG) v Zhao Xintong (CHN)
- Judd Trump (ENG) v Ryan Day (WAL)
- Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG) v Luca Brecel (BEL)
- John Higgins (SCO) v Jack Lisowski (ENG)
- Neil Robertson (AUS) v Shaun Murphy (ENG)
- Kyren Wilson (ENG) v Stuart Bingham (ENG)
- Mark Allen (NI) v Barry Hawkins (ENG)
- Mark Williams (WAL) v Yan Bingtao (CHN)
