World number three Mark Allen defeated Jack Lisowski 5-2 to make the quarter-finals of the inaugural Wuhan Open and remain in contention to overhaul Ronnie O’Sullivan at the summit of the world rankings.
The Pistol must win the event if he is to become world number one and today’s result sees him stay on a collision course for a potential showdown with O’Sullivan in the semi-finals.
Allen’s ascension to the top end of the rankings has come courtesy of a golden 22/23 season, which saw him named as Player of the Year. The Antrim cueman picked up silverware at the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and the World Grand Prix. Despite concerns with his current form this week, he appears to be showing signs of improvement as we head towards the business end of the tournament.
Today’s win over Lisowski means Allen has now won their last three meetings (excluding last season’s Shoot Out). However, Lisowski still leads the head-to-head 5-4. Next up, Allen faces Ali Carter, who thrashed Liam Highfield 5-1.
Allen said: “I played much better today. It still wasn’t brilliant and I missed a few I’d like to have back. As the week has gone on, I’ve played better. That is a good sign of things to come. Mentally I’ve been very good this week, which I haven’t been this season. I stayed patient. A few things went wrong today and I should have closed it out earlier. I could have got frustrated but I stayed patient, played the right shots and created opportunities.
“I’ve got the better of him (Lisowski) in some big ones. He is a class player. We are both good players and over the course of our careers there will be moments when he wins a few in a row and I win a few in a row. You need to play well to beat him and I played better today. He will get me back in the future no doubt.”
O’Sullivan secured his passage to the last eight thanks to an entertaining 5-1 defeat of China’s Yuan Sijun.
The Rocket is aiming to win a third consecutive event in China, having scored big invitational wins at the 2022 Hong Kong Masters and the recent Shanghai Masters.
The seven-time World Champion dominated this evening’s tie, making breaks of 130, 64 and 82 on his way to a 4-1 advantage. The last frame saw him trail 63-5 and require all blacks with the reds in difficult positions. O’Sullivan found away to get the blacks he required and finish off the match. Afterwards he admitted he savours the test of winning frames from tough spots.
“I quite like that sort of challenge sometimes. I didn’t expect to win it, but you know what you have to do and know you need to go red, black, red, black to have a chance. There is nothing to lose in a frame like that,” said 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan.
“I think these conditions (in China) suit me and Judd more than anyone else. I liken it a bit to Nadal playing on clay. It forces you to play certain shots. You can be in perfect position one minute and then out of position the next. You need to be a bit of a shotmaker. The ball runs on and you can’t screw it as much. The white tends to go near the side cushion if you don’t play it correctly. Methodical players don’t like that. Me and Judd make it up as we go along.”
Irish 21-year-old Aaron Hill reached the first quarter-final of his career so far with a hard fought 5-3 win over China’s He Guoqiang.
Hill is in China for the first time as a professional, after originally earning his place in the professional ranks back in 2020. He dropped off tour at the end of the 21/22 campaign but immediately bounced back through Q School.
Tonight’s result is the most significant of Hill’s career thus far. Next up he faces Wu Yize, who beat Stephen Maguire 5-4 on a re-spotted black in the decider.
Last week’s English Open champion Judd Trump defeated Barry Hawkins 5-2 in a repeat of the recent European Masters final. Next up he faces Tom Ford, who defeated Xiao Guodong 5-4.
The post Pistol Remains In Hunt To Top Rankings appeared first on World Snooker.
