Mark Allen (snooker player)
Northern Irish professional snooker player / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mark Allen (born 22 February 1986) is a Northern Irish professional snooker player from Antrim. At the conclusion of the 2024 World Snooker Championship, he became world number one.[2] He won the World Amateur Championship in 2004,[3] turned professional the following year and took only three seasons to reach the top 16. In his fourth professional season, he reached the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championship.
Born | (1986-02-22) 22 February 1986 (age 38) Antrim, Northern Ireland |
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Sport country | Northern Ireland |
Nickname | The Pistol[1] |
Professional | 2005–present |
Highest ranking | 1 (May 2024) |
Current ranking | 1 (as of 7 May 2024) |
Maximum breaks | 3 |
Century breaks | 618 (as of 6 May 2024) |
Tournament wins | |
Ranking | 11 |
Minor-ranking | 5 |
Allen reached his first ranking final at the 2011 UK Championship, where he lost to Judd Trump. He won his first ranking title the following year at the 2012 World Open. He captured his first Triple Crown title when he defeated Kyren Wilson to win the 2018 Masters, and his second when he defeated Ding Junhui to win the 2022 UK Championship. He has won a career total of eleven ranking titles.[4] The 2022–23 season was the best of Allen's career to date, as he reached four ranking finals, won three ranking titles—at the 2022 Northern Ireland Open, the 2022 UK Championship and the 2023 World Grand Prix—and reached a career high of number three in the world rankings.[5] He reached the second world semi-final of his career at the 2023 World Snooker Championship.[6]
A prolific break-builder, Allen has compiled more than 600 century breaks in professional competition. He has also made three maximum breaks, achieving his first in the 2016 UK Championship,[7] the second in the 2021 Northern Ireland Open qualifying round[8] and the third during the 2024 Masters.[9]