Thursday 1 March 2018

LIVE BLOG: Mark Allen vs Gary Wilson

Gary Wilson 4-3 Mark Allen - An amazing chance it was and Wilson held his nerve as well as he had done throughout the entire match. A fine clearance of 79 is the difference in this match and puts Gary Wilson into the last 16. Mark Allen can reflect on some bad fortune earlier in the decider, that prevented him winning the match in one visit but credit must go to Wilson for the clearance. An excellent match and great entertainment from both players.

Wilson on the way to the match winning clearance. 


It's all gone a bit wrong for Mark Allen here. His break ends on 54 as he goes in the reds from a red and snookers himself on all colours. The second failed escape leaves Wilson on a break and with plenty of reds open this is an amazing chance to steal the frame and match.

Deciding Frame - Allen is straight in in the decider with a good confident long pot, playing around for the black. He now has a few reds open but will need to tackle the bunch again to make this a match winning break.

Frame Wilson - Another quick frame as Wilson makes his best effort of the match. It's been a mixed bag from him today but when he needed to he's knuckled down and forced the decider with a fine run of 74. 

Frame 6 - Wilson has had a couple of early half chances in this frame but wasn't able to fully develop them into full chances adding to his frustrations. He has a third chance now though and given his early lead he should convert here and forced the deciding frame.

Frame Allen - On this occasion one chance is Allen is going to need. A break of 69 in no time at all is much more like the Allen we're used to watching and at a crucial point two. He now only needs one more frame for victory. 3-2 Allen.

Allen looked in decent form in a tough clash with Wilson


Frame 5 - Another Wilson mistake brings about a scoring opportunity for Allen at the start of frame five. He's working hard here and starting to build a decent lead as he aims to go one ahead with two to play.

Frame Wilson - A really important moment there for Wilson as he manages to get back level. A fine pot on the last red opens up a golden chance with all the colours in open play and this time he finally makes it count. 2-2 here now on table 4.

Allen has now potentially missed the boat. A miss when leading by 50 allows Wilson to forget everything that happened earlier. He gets to 43 before missing the blue and is now snookered by Allen on the final red.

Frame 4 - Wilson knows he's missed the boat here, a bad safety shot lets Allen right in in the fourth and Wilson kicks out at his seat area in frustration. Allen meanwhile is moving through the gears and looking to kick his opponent while he's down.

Frame Allen - Wilson will not be happy about the missed opportunities in that frame. He's really let Allen off the hook here and you feel the fourth frame will be vital now. The Northern Irish man has hit the front at 2-1.

Allen races to 56 and looks confident until missing a testing red along the cushion and leaving it for Wilson. Again though he cannot take advantage and Allen is soon back at the table looking to finish the frame off.

Wilson gets a second chance but again cannot make anything notable before missing and this time leaving Allen in. With the pink available and reds spread the chances of Wilson getting a third chance are low.

Frame 3 - A slow start to frame three taking nine minutes before the first red falls. Wilson is the man in and looking to make up for missing the crucial yellow in the last. However a miss on a red by the corner from mid distance ends the break abruptly on 11.

Frame Allen - In the end it is the yellow that proves the crucial ball. Wilson sails to that point but misses an opportunity to bring it away from the cushion. Playing it down the cushion with rest and extension he misses and sticks it for Allen who happily clears to level at 1-1.

Wilson looked good in frame two but the yellow on the right hand side proved the vital ball. 


Allen breaks down on 47 losing position and putting the yellow safe. Two shots later though a missed cut from range for Allen leaves Wilson a chance to counter and the aforementioned yellow may be the only issue for Wilson.

Frame 2 - Allen's first opportunity of the match comes in frame two after a plant gets him in and a good brown to middle follows it. It's the kind of chance that Allen has been making the most of all season so there's no reason why that doesn't continue here.

Frame Wilson - Following the earlier 45, Wilson adds a further 50 and does more than enough to shut Allen out of this first frame. The perfect opener for Wilson as he looks to send another top seed packing.

Wilson breaks down on 45 after losing position on a colour, he has a second opportunity now though after laying a snooker with all reds in the middle of the table and Allen is unable to leave everything safe from his escape. Should be Wilsons frame.

Frame 1 - First chance of the match falls to Gary Wilson who cuts in a red from distance with the cue ball just finishing on the brown. A shot on the pink to middle in turn opens up a number of reds from the bunch and making this an early opportunity to make his mark on the match.

This afternoon it's all about the Masters champion Mark Allen on table four against Gary Wilson who is a former Welsh Open quarter finalist. Allen has started the week with wins against Cao Yupeng and Soheil Vahedi, while for Wilson he's seen off Sam Baird and Daniel Wells to make this stage.
Expect a heavy scoring clash between these two and an entertaining one.

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