Mark Allen was made to work for his place in the Northern Ireland Open semi-finals, defeating his good friend, and foe for the night, Jordan Brown, 5-2 in an all Northern Irish quarter-final in Belfast.
The men, who both hail from Antrim, played some great snooker, both in safety battles and scoring, racking up three centuries as World No. 8 Allen prevailed in a never-more atmospheric Waterfront Hall.
His prize for victory is a semi-final showdown with four-time former champion Judd Trump, who earlier prevailed 5-2 in his quarter-final over John Higgins.
The two friends embraced warmly before and after the match, and it is surely an experience they may have to live through more times in the future if Brown – currently ranked 55 in the world – can continue in this vein of form.
Match Summary
Frames 1-4
The opening frame began cautiously, with both players perhaps feeling the pressure of facing their close friend. After eight minutes of measured, tactical exchanges, Brown made the first error, and Allen pounced. What followed was simply sublime: a stunning break of 101 to light the touchpaper at the Waterfront Hall.
Brown, as he has shown all week, was not remotely fazed. He seized control of the second frame and produced an even more impressive response, clearing the table with a superb 131, his first century break of the tournament, to level the match at 1–1.
Brown looked set to carry the momentum into the third frame, but a miss on a routine black halted his break at 17. Despite Allen then building a sizeable lead, the frame descended into a long tactical exchange. After an energy-sapping 39 minutes, Allen eventually edged it to move 2–1 in front.
Looking not to get dragged into another drawn-out tactical battle, Allen came out aggressively in the fourth frame, compiling a break of 56 to seize control. A missed pot with the frame at his mercy briefly opened the door for Brown, but the contest slipped back into safety exchanges, albeit impressive ones. Allen, however, held firm and closed it out to take a commanding 3–1 lead into the mid-session interval.
Frames 5-7
Brown emerged from the mid-session interval looking fully reset, and when Allen failed to take advantage of an early chance, Brown produced a brilliant reply. Showing fluency in his cueing, he compiled his second century of the match with a superb break of 120 to close the gap to 3–2.
Allen looked set to respond with a century of his own, but after over-hitting his position to a red into the left corner, he attempted to force the next shot and lost control of the cue ball. Brown let him off the hook, however, by missing a red to the centre. Despite some stubborn attempts at snookers from his opponent, Allen eventually closed out the frame to restore his two-frame cushion at 4–2.
Brown had his chances in the seventh frame, but he was unable to be clinical enough to take them, and when Allen got over the line, the two great friends embraced and soaked up the applause on a special night in Belfast.
