Mark Allen reached the last 32 of the Northern Ireland Open on Monday with a tight 4-3 victory over Robert Milkins.
The Pistol wasn’t firing on all cylinders but finished the match strongly, fighting his way back from 3-2 behind to win the last couple of frames with a brace of century breaks.
Antrim’s Allen, twice a winner of his home event on the calendar, will next face Ben Woollaston as he chases back-to-back success on the Home Nations Series.
The 39 year-old leads the way in the race to pocket the £150,000 bonus that is awarded to the most consistent player at the four Home Nations tournaments.
Allen triumphed in last month’s English Open in Brentwood to take his career tally of ranking titles to twelve.
Against Milkins, he got off to a slow start and trailed three times in the contest before digging deep at the finish to the delight of the Belfast crowd.
“I made some silly errors, I felt a bit edgy,” Mark Allen told the World Snooker Tour while conducting his post-match interviews.
“I still felt like I was committing to the right things, it just wasn’t working. A few times I went into the balls, and it didn’t really pan out well.”
“There were a few loose safeties here and there. It doesn’t take long for things to go wrong, especially in a best of seven.
“But I managed to finish the match off really well. I got left an easy starter [in the decider] and played a lot of clever shots positionally to open up more balls as I went on.
“I kept good control of the cue ball. It’s nice to finish the match off the way I did, because I was getting a lot of support out there like I always do.
“They didn’t have much to cheer about, so to finish it off and actually enjoy it a little bit towards the end was something that I’ll take through to the next round.
“I probably feel more nervous here than I do at any other event, and that’s including the World Championships.
“I try to do breathing exercises and stuff before I go out and relax a little bit, but then when you get out there it all hits you.
“I was just edgy at the start, and I made some errors that I shouldn’t have. I probably only settled down when I made that clearance in the fourth frame.
“It’s mad because I’ve won here twice, and I shouldn’t really be feeling as bad as I do. But it just shows what it means to me.
“Hopefully I can give them a bit more to shout about as the week goes on.”
Last season, Neil Robertson won the English Open and proceeded to defend his buffer to the chasing pack during the remaining three events to successfully land the £150,000 Home Nations jackpot.
Allen knows that the longer he stays in the running at the Waterfront Hall this week, the better his chances will be of securing the prize himself this term.
“I’ll think about it come the time of the Welsh,” said Allen, the Northern Ireland Open champion in 2021 and 2022.
“I’ll see where I’m at and see what I need to do, but I’m in a great position now. It has been a great start.”
“If I keep winning matches and trying to win events, that bonus will take care of itself. There are a lot of other players who will be chasing it.
“It’d be nice to win here this week and create a bit of daylight, but I’m a long way from that yet.”
Among the others to reach the last 32 on day two of the competition was Zhou Yuelong, who lost 9-8 to Allen in the final of the English Open a month ago.
British Open champion Shaun Murphy, Wuhan Open runner-up Gary Wilson, and 2016 Northern Ireland Open finalist Barry Hawkins also progressed.
The first round of the venues stages in Belfast will conclude on Tuesday, meanwhile, with a few interesting ties on the agenda, including reigning champion Kyren Wilson’s outing against Oliver Lines.
There is a humdinger clash between Luca Brecel and Stephen Maguire while Ali Carter will look to avenge the two losses he has already suffered this season against Stan Moody.
The round of 32 begins later in the day with pre-tournament favourite Judd Trump and four-time world champion John Higgins returning to the fray.
2025 Northern Ireland Open Draw
Round of 64 (bo7)
Kyren Wilson vs Oliver Lines
Matthew Selt vs Ryan Day
Wu Yize 4-3 Scott Donaldson
David Gilbert 2-4 He Guoqiang
Joe O’Connor 3-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Zhang Anda vs Mark Davis
Jack Lisowski 4-0 Haris Tahir
Mark Selby 4-1 Ian Burns
Long Zehuang w/o Mark Williams
Yuan Sijun 4-1 Daniel Wells
Chris Wakelin 4-1 Lan Yuhao
Tom Ford w/o Marco Fu
Stuart Bingham 2-4 Jimmy Robertson
Ali Carter vs Stan Moody
Zhou Yuelong 4-2 Dylan Emery
David Grace w/o Neil Robertson
Judd Trump 4-2 Anthony McGill
Jackson Page 4-0 Steven Hallworth
Gary Wilson 4-3 Chang Bingyu
Jak Jones 3-4 Martin O’Donnell
Stephen Maguire vs Luca Brecel
Si Jiahui vs Cheung Ka Wai
Pang Junxu 4-1 Robbie Williams
John Higgins 4-0 Louis Heathcote
Barry Hawkins 4-0 Zak Surety
Lei Peifan 1-4 Aaron Hill
Mark Allen 4-3 Robert Milkins
Hossein Vafaei 2-4 Ben Woollaston
Elliot Slessor 4-3 Fan Zhengyi
Shaun Murphy 4-0 David Lilley
Noppon Saengkham 2-4 Ashley Hugill
Zhao Xintong 4-0 Jordan Brown
Round of 32 (bo7)
K. Wilson/Lines vs Selt/Day
Wu Yize vs He Guoqiang
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Zhang/Davis
Jack Lisowski vs Mark Selby
Long Zehuang vs Yuan Sijun
Chris Wakelin vs Tom Ford
Jimmy Robertson vs Carter/Moody
Zhou Yuelong vs David Grace
Judd Trump vs Jackson Page
Gary Wilson vs Martin O’Donnell
Maguire/Brecel vs Si/Cheung
Pang Junxu vs John Higgins
Barry Hawkins vs Aaron Hill
Mark Allen vs Ben Woollaston
Elliot Slessor vs Shaun Murphy
Ashley Hugill vs Jordan Brown
Click here for the updated draw and results (snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
