World Snooker Championship - 'Sorry!' - Mark Allen smashes balls to avoid bizarre loss to Mark Selby
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Updated 27/04/2021 at 12:32 GMT
Mark Allen demonstrated what makes facing Mark Selby so tough for opponents as he ended up smashing the balls to avoid defaulting what would have been a winning frame to the three-time world champion. Selby ended up taking the frame anyway to seal his progression at the World Snooker Championship - but not until after two fouls and two misses and plenty of drama.
'Sorry!' - Allen smashes balls to avoid losing match against Selby
Mark Allen appeared to suffer a form of torture in facing Mark Selby in their World Snooker Championship clash at the Crucible.
There are few things worse in snooker than being unable to find your way out of a tough spot and your opponent repeatedly - and mercilessly - insisting on you taking the shot again and again.
That was the pain that Allen seemed to be suffering under in what proved to be the final frame in Sheffield - and as Selby turned the screw in ruthless fashion.
The Jester from Leicester gave his opponent nothing to smile about as he marched through to the quarter-finals without a flicker of emotion.
With a 9-0 advantage and holding a 12-7 frame lead, Selby got Allen in a nasty spot behind the yellow and requested re-spots as his opponent twice failed to get out of the predicament.
As the Northern Irishman could see a red, the referee even had to inform Allen, with Selby just one frame from victory: "Okay, Mark, I'll next have to call a miss and it will be frame to Mark, okay? Sorry!"
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'Magnificent' - Selby sinks incredible long pot at crucial moment
Former world champion Joe Johnson, on commentary for Eurosport, noted:
He'd forgotten about that, hadn't he? He'd forgotten about the 'three misses and you're out' rule!
Allen proceeded to simply give up on getting out of the hole he found himself in with cute play and simply launched the cue ball into the pack of reds, scattering the balls around the table.
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'What a brilliant pot!' - Selby strikes 'sensational' long pot
"Well, he certainly hit one! And he very nearly got away with it," said Johnson with a chuckle.
Selby duly closed out the efficient victory in typically determined fashion thereafter and Allen was left to trudge away looking utterly defeated and frustrated.
Mark Williams will next face the challenge of taking on Selby in the quarter-finals and the Welshman will no doubt be prepared for the patience that will be required for the encounter.
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