Mark Allen is competing at the World Snooker Championship (Image: BBC Sport)
Mark Allen has denied claims that the World Championship tables have been poor at this year’s Crucible showpiece, but did have a message for the tournament’s bigwigs. The Northern Irishman became the first player to reach this year’s semi-finals, defeating Barry Hawkins 13-11 in a tight last-eight encounter.
It’s the second time in four World Championships that Allen has reached the last-four stage, but the 40-year-old has never gone one step further and made the final. He’s considered one of the best players never to win a world title, with Allen hoping 2026 will prove the year that changes.
One thing he could use to his advantage is the state of the tables, given other players have spoken out about the quality. By contrast, Allen has insisted he doesn’t believe there is anything wrong with them and pushed back towards any criticisms.
Commenting on the tables afterwards, he said: “I have to say, I know there have been a few complaints about the table. But I thought the table played really, really nice in those first two sessions. It was a little trickier today, a bit heavier.
“But whenever the table is nice, you can just trust certain shots so you just play your game. It was really good stuff yesterday, there wasn’t much missed at all.”
It’s in sharp contrast to competitor and namesake Mark Selby, who said earlier in the Championship: “Even the [first-round] game against Jak Jones, I felt like the table was absolutely horrific.
“Jak said the same to me. Last night they re-covered it and I still felt it was really heavy and pingy as well. That’s not the reason why I’ve lost, but it’s just disappointing to come to a tournament which is the pinnacle of our sport and you think like the conditions are going to play really good and I’ve played anything but.
Mark Selby is through to the semi-finals of the World Championship (Image: Getty)
“I don’t know what it is because I have my practice table re-covered quite a lot of the time and it never, ever plays to the level of that, especially like how it just flies off the cushions.
“Whether it’s too hot in the arena, I don’t know. You probably have to speak to the table fitters. They do the best job possible they can, but something needs to happen because it’s just so inconsistent from one tournament to the next.”
Meanwhile, Allen has called on the Crucible chiefs to help maximise the rest time players have in between sessions. Unhappy with how quickly the turnaround was, he remarked: “It is the one downside about the schedule for this event because me and Barry are in the same boat but having to play last night and again this morning, whenever there’s other matches that could have been played…
“It’ll never really make sense to the players. I understand from a broadcaster’s perspective that they want one match to a finish in each of the sessions but it’s not very fair to the players. You look at Hossein and Wu Yize this afternoon, they’re having to go straight back on tonight, I don’t think it’s very fair on the players at all.
“That could go all the way. Hossein even though he’s not one of the established top players, he can be frightening on his day. Wu Yize comes with a good reputation, he’s won a tournament this season and looks like he is going to be one to beat for a long, long time. Hopefully it’s a 13-12 epic that finishes really late tonight! May the best man win and I’ll be ready for tomorrow no matter who comes through.”