Allen battles back before Trump lifts first UK title

Judd Trump last night produced a stunning, nailbiting triumph to win the williamhill.com UK Championship.

The 22-year-old was virtually an unknown six months ago, but his 10-8 victory over Mark Allen at the York Barbican confirmed his standing as one of the best potters in the game and left him £100,000 richer.

Both players were bidding to win the UK title for the first time.

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Trump, 22, only broke into the top 16 this year after winning the China Open and reaching the final at the World Championship – where he lost to John Higgins – at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.

His elite ranking meant he did not have to go through the gruelling qualifiers this season and Trump – who trains at the same club as Ronnie O’Sullivan in Essex – is swiftly becoming the poster-boy of world snooker.

His opponent, 25-year-old Allen, was competing in his first ranking final but neither player showed any early nerves despite their relative inexperience.

Trump was swiftly out of the blocks, firing in a 70 clearance to take the opening frame, before Allen nipped in with a 56 to level.

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The Irishman then produced a stunning 141 clearance – the second highest of the tournament, Stephen Maguire having scored a 144 in his second-round win over John Higgins – to set down his marker in the final.

Trump’s amazing rise to prominence has been based on an attacking mindset, his swashbuckling style with the cue winning an army of new fans.

That brashness was never more on show than when an audacious plant on the pack of reds got him in the points, but he quickly ran out of position and a wild second attempt at a two-ball plant on a pair of distant reds meant the end of the break.

Allen looked like he would go on to open up a two-frame advantage but missed the brown, trying to get position on the blue, and a bout of safety play ensued as both chased the final four colours.

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It looked like Trump would profit as he faced down a long pot on the brown, but he whacked it so hard the brown flew out of the pocket, along the cushion before dropping off the table.

The re-spotted brown was enough to see Allen go into the mid-session interval 3-1 ahead.

Trump – a regular Twitter user during breaks who coined the phrase ‘naughty snooker’ earlier in the week to describe his extravagant play – tweeted he needed to “change into my naughty head for the next four frames”, and he certainly needed to improve.

He produced another amazing plant on the pack of reds in the fifth frame, but these were just flashes of brilliance.

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However, the Bristol-born potter proved he has more to his repertoire than just flair, scrapping through the next two frames after each went down to the colours, to level at 3-3. If this was the nice Trump, then the next two frames saw him re-discover his ‘naughty’ style with breaks of 75 and 61 turning the match on its head from 3-1 down to 5-3 in front heading into the evening session.

A packed Barbican greeted the players back to the arena and if Allen needed any encouragement, he only had to recall that he lost four frames on the trot to Ricky Walden in Saturday’s semi-final to trail 5-3 at the same stage yet battled his way back to a 9-7 victory.

But Trump was full of confidence and a 109 clearance saw him move 6-3 in front, needing just four more frames to lift the trophy.

Allen needed to stop the rot after losing five successive frames to see his title hopes fading fast.

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He was first in the points but stalled on 40, Trump needing no second invitation to nip in and hammer home a 70 break.

Trump was unplayable in this session, capitalising on every half chance, and a 74 break in frame 11 left his opponent needing snookers.

Allen eked out one, but it was not enough as Trump – up to No 5 in the provisional world rankings, with Allen at No 10 – moved 8-3 ahead.

After such an impressive week in York, the final was in danger of passing by a shell-shocked Allen, such was the blitz produced by Trump.

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So for the Antrim potter – the best player to come out of Northern Ireland since the days of Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor - to respond with three centuries in four frames was stunning.

First he made a cultured 139 break to head into the mid-session interval at 8-4, and then returned to the arena and followed up with a 129 effort.

Trump’s aggressive play has been his trademark, but he proved he has the safety to match when he left Allen floundering and the Irishman was forced to attempt a long-range red at the start of frame 13. He missed, and it let in Trump who wasted little time in totting up a frame-clinching 76, only for Allen to reply with a 125 before scrambling home in the next frame to trail 9-7.

From 8-3 behind, it was soon 9-8 as a 95 clearance – only a missed black thwarted a fourth century in six frames – kept Allen in touch.

But a missed long red at the start of frame 18 let in Trump, who knocked in a clearance to clinch the UK title.

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