Mark Allen hammered in five century breaks in beating Barry Hawkins and Neil Robertson to reach the last four of the Champion of Champions on Thursday in Coventry.
The Northern Irishman, who superbly won the International Championship last week in China, was brimming with confidence as he booked a semi-final encounter with Kyren Wilson – a repeat of their Masters final from the start of 2018.
Allen compiled 14 tons en route to claiming his fourth ranking event title on Sunday, including an impressive four in the final against Neil Robertson, and he prolonged that streak with another flurry at the Ricoh Arena.
In fact, his first frame against Hawkins in the last 16 produced a magnificent 140 total clearance and, although he would lose the next two frames, Allen added runs of 102, 86, and 76 for a 4-2 success.
The 32 year-old met a familiar face next in Robertson, who had defied Mark Selby’s third career 147 break to inflict a second defeat on the world number one in as many weeks.
But the Australian, in turn, was to get a taste of his own medicine as the “Pistol” fired his way to a convincing 6-1 triumph thanks to breaks of 123, 119, 102, 98, and 75.
Allen’s form has often taken a streaky nature with the Antrim man either striking hot or cold with his displays over a period of time.
This streak is proving to be a scorcher and if he can maintain this devastating level of power scoring he’ll be a difficult player to overcome at the weekend when the bigger cheques are being handed out.
Allen takes on Wilson on Saturday evening with the first semi-final clash between Shaun Murphy and Ronnie O’Sullivan, in what is a repeat of last year’s final, taking place on Friday.
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🗣️ @pistol147 reflects on an incredible day of snooker which saw his hit five century breaks as he beat both Barry Hawkins and Neil Robertson. Who else cannot wait for his semi-final against the equally impressive @KyrenWilson this Saturday? #ChampOfChamps pic.twitter.com/nlYxIzCt9C
— ChampionofChampions (@ChampOfChamps) November 8, 2018
