Mark Allen went from insulting the Chinese people to stunning the crowd at the Haikou World Open with an emphatic victory over Stephen Lee in the final.
The Ulsterman collected the winner’s cheque of £75,000 (€89,500) after easily beating Lee 10-1, having opened up an 8-1 lead before the final session.
The Antrim native produced a wonderful 104 clearance in the final frame, his fourth ton in the match, to get him over the finishing line.
Nicknamed ‘The Pistol’, it is Allen’s first triumph in a ranking event and a win that pushes him up to number 7 in the world.
And the victory was the cherry on an impressive journey to the final on the Chinese island of Hainan, besting Jimmy Robertson, Judd Trump, Mark King and world number one Mark Selby.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said after the win. “It may take a day or two but I think once I get home and see my family and friends we’ll have celebratory drink and I think it will sink in that I’ve actually done it.
“It’s been a long time coming as I’ve been a pro for seven years now. Sometimes you question if you’re ever going to win one, especially if you look at the players who have been winning tournaments, as I know I’m as good, if not better as some people who have won events so you have to be strong mentally and I think this will be the first of many.”
The final result was a stark contrast to the controversy Allen prompted on arrival in China by complaining publicly about conditions around him on his Twitter account.
Allen tweeted: “This place is horrendous! Dead cat found this morning. Any wonder this place stinks. Must be dead cats all round the town.”
He continued: “Journey a nightmare. People are ignorant. Place stinks. Arena’s rubbish, tables poor, food is horrendous. Other than that I love China.”
The 26-year-old then added later: “Might’ve been a bit harsh a few hours ago in my tweet. Not all Chinese people are ignorant. I stand by everything else though.”
Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) was not pleased by Allen’s comments and stressed how damaging they could be to the game’s development in the China.
“Mark Allen’s comments are extremely disappointing considering that China is a great friend of our sport,” he said. “There has been a massive effort from China to support our players and I am sure this is an isolated view from one player.”
Allen has stirred the pot in the past, most notably with World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.
In an interview during the 2011 UK Championships, Allen was critical of Hearn’s attempts to change the image of snooker and accused him of not fulfilling his promises.
In the same interview, the Antrim potter swore and called on Hearn to resign. The pair later spoke at the end of the tournament and settled the issue.
