Chris Wakelin became the first player through to the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Snooker Championship with a 13-6 win over Mark Allen.
The Englishman produced arguably the greatest performance of his career to reach the last eight at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Wakelin dominated the first two sessions, playing aggressive snooker and winning them both 6-2.
A key moment in the match materialised in the ninth frame – the first of the second session – when Allen rattled a simple yellow off the spot when primed to reduce his arrears.
Wakelin duly mopped up before going on a clinical frame-winning burst to streak clear at 10-2.
The 33 year-old’s esteemed opponent managed to salvage some consolation from the tie by firing in a majestic 147 maximum break in the 13th frame.
But controlling a lot of the tight frames, Wakelin was able to sustain his buffer to the winning line and secure one of the biggest wins of his career to date.
“Magic,” former Snooker Shoot Out champion Chris Wakelin expressed in his post-match press conference.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in my game at the moment. I’m playing some really good stuff.”
“I managed to string a few frames together this afternoon that gave me a comfortable lead, but I still had to get over the line tonight.
“It’s the biggest tournament we have on the calendar. To be through to the quarter-finals and not just be scraping through but playing really well [is great].
“I got a great 7-2 lead against Neil [Robertson in the first round], and I managed to get over the line there.
“But today was a totally different story. I felt like I really dominated the match.
“It’s crazy to think [of where I am now]. From where I was a couple of years ago, I’ve got the ultimate belief now and feel like I’ve really matured as a player.
“I feel like the sky is the limit as well. I’m not going to get ahead of myself – there’s some very, very good players still left in this tournament. One of them is me.
“It’s crazy to think that the first time I came here about 15 years ago to watch snooker, I sat in the crowd and watched Mark Allen.
“So to be here and to beat him – he’s one of the greats of our game and a thoroughly great guy as well – yeah, it’s been a crazy few days.
“It doesn’t matter who I play in the quarter-finals. I said this before when I qualified a couple of weeks ago.
“It doesn’t matter who I’m playing, you’re going to have to play bloody well to beat me. I still believe that now.”
Chris Wakelin first turned professional in 2013 in somewhat unusual circumstances.
In his final-round clash at Q School and with a two-year tour card on the line, Wakelin was leading Adam Wicheard 3-2 when his opponent’s cue snapped leading to a concession.
Wakelin took several years to find his feet as a professional and boasted only a handful of quarter-final runs in ranking events before experiencing his breakthrough in 2023 when he won a maiden ranking title at the unpredictable Shoot Out.
The man from Rugby, whose betting odds at this year’s World Championship have shortened to 16/1, hit the jackpot like at https://hexa-bet.com/ with a record payday of £50,000.
As has been the case so often with that tournament, the success led to a significant increase in his confidence to perform at the highest level.
The former English under-21 champion reached the final of the following season’s Northern Ireland Open, and this season he has also featured prominently at the latter stages of events.
A run to the final of the International Championship helped him break into the top 16 and secure an invitation to the prestigious Masters for the first time.
Wakelin wasn’t able to maintain his elite status to benefit from an automatic seeding at this year’s World Snooker Championship.
However, he comfortably beat Xing Zihao and Martin O’Donnell in the qualifiers at the English Institute of Sport before edging Neil Robertson in a dramatic first-round fixture at the venue stages.
Another superb triumph over Allen has taken him within one win of a dream appearance at the single table setup at the Crucible.
In the quarter-finals, Wakelin awaits the winner of the all-Chinese showdown between Zhao Xintong and Lei Peifan.
For the full 2025 World Snooker Championship draw, results, and schedule, click here.
Featured photo credit: WST
I’d forgotten about the Wicheard incident!
I visited his hometown of Rugby last year. It’s primarily famous for the sport of rugby union being invented at Rugby School when William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with during a football match.
The revered poet Rupert Brooke is among the school’s alumni.
Wakelin is probably the greatest player ever to emerge from the county of Warwickshire.