Champion Trump tips Allen to capture future glory

The 22-year-old from Bristol has come from relative obscurity to rocket to fifth place in the world rankings.

He made his breakthrough victory at the China Open then came through the qualifiers at the World Championship before losing in the Crucible final to John Higgins.

Trump crowned an unforgettable 2011 on Sunday by claiming the williamhill.com UK Championship title.

He beat Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen 10-8 in a thrilling final at York’s Barbican Centre, pocketing £100,000 for nine days’ work.

Yet that title looked a distant quest when he trailed 3-1 after the opening exchanges with Allen, 25, who had made headlines of his own last week by criticising World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn’s running of the sport.

A run of seven successive frames catapulted Trump into an 8-3 lead but three centuries in four frames from Allen proved he was ready for a scrap, whether it be on or off the table.

At 9-8, the match was in the balance but Trump held his nerve to get over the finish line with a winning break of 91.

“To win it the way I did is a brilliant achievement,” said Trump. “Mark pushed me all the way. It’s a good job I had a big lead in that last session.

“It feels amazing. It was a brilliant game. Me and Mark both played at the top of our game.

“It was his first final and I was really surprised by the way he came out. If he plays like that for the rest of the season he’s going to have no problem winning tournaments.

“I had the odd half-chance but other than that he did not miss a ball. In the end, I had to pull off a good clearance under pressure.

“It was like playing a machine. I looked at him and it just looked like he wasn’t going to miss. If it had gone to 9-9 he would probably have been a big favourite.”

Allen said: “In the middle part of the match he played so well. I didn’t do that much wrong – and suddenly I was 8-3 down.

“It shows how good he is, he is the man of the moment. I just tried to believe in myself and wait for a chance. I got back into it, and in the end I went for a red which was the only one I could leave, and it ended up over the pocket.”

It was Allen’s first ranking event final, after losing his previous five semi-finals.

“I came here to win and I haven’t done that, but at least I got over the semi-final hurdle. I have shown that I can handle the big occasion and that stands me in good stead.”

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