Mark Allen claimed his third major title of the season at the World Grand Prix, holding off a brilliant comeback from Judd Trump to win Sunday’s final 10-9.
Much of the heavy lifting appeared to have been done in the afternoon session when Allen won five frames on the bounce to lead 6-2, but Trump raised his game significantly in the evening as the match delivered a dramatic finale.
Neither player was at their fluent best in the afternoon, but Allen gritted his teeth to ensure he held a sizeable lead at the end of the session, finding some rhythm late on as he produced breaks of 58, 88, 63 and 77.
The evening session was much different as both men immediately hit their straps, back-to-back centuries from Trump reducing his arrears to 7-4, before he came desperately close to sinking a long red in what proved to be a huge twelfth frame.
When Allen stepped in with a tournament-high break of 141, Trump’s hopes of mounting a serious comeback looked to have been dealt a significant blow – but he wasn’t about to lay down on his sword.
A run of 51 was enough to win Trump the following frame, and break of 87 the next, and when he added frames fifteen and sixteen, the latter with a nerveless 58, last week’s Masters champion had strung together four frames in a row to remarkably draw level at 8-8.
Though clearly feeling the heat, Allen somehow steeled himself to put together what was a terrific break of 43, one that inched him back in front at 9-8, only for Trump to step back in and take the match to a deciding frame.
With nerves now clearly frayed, both players missed straightforward pots at the beginning of the decider, but Trump's miss on the yellow was to prove the fatal blow, Allen puffing his cheeks and compiling a match and tournament winning-run of 52 that eventually saw him over the line.
A relieved Allen told ITV4 afterwards: "I actually said to Judd at the end he had me completely gone. It’s not often I go, I feel like I’m good under pressure.
"He put me under all sorts of pressure and I absolutely fell over the line.
"I’m very proud of myself I got over the line but I’ve felt better."
Allen takes command of opening session
Mark Allen has one hand on the World Grand Prix Trophy after dominating the opening session of his final with Judd Trump on Sunday.
Allen has already claimed the Northern Ireland Open and UK Championship titles this season, and is set to add another major prize to his CV having won the final five frames of the afternoon session to lead 6-2 in the race to 10 frames.
Having started brightly and inched into a 2-1 lead with a break of 74 in the third frame, Trump will be frustrated to have been dominated thereafter, Allen mixing relentless scoring and hard match-play snooker to take complete control of the match.
Once he levelled the scores at 2-2 with a run of 58, Allen then added further breaks of 88, 63 and 77 as his opponent barely got a look in as the afternoon wore on.
Play will resume at 7pm on Sunday, with Trump needing to produce the type of comeback that helped him win his second Masters crown only a week ago.
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