Allen Keeps Hot Streak Going
Mark Allen won his ninth consecutive match on the World Snooker Tour as he came from 2-0 down to beat Sunny Akani 5-3 in the second qualifying round of the BetVictor German Masters.
Allen captured his first ranking title in three years at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open last Sunday. And two wins this week in Cannock have kept his momentum going and given him a spot at the Tempodrom in Berlin in January. After losing the first two frames against Akani, Allen fired breaks of 95, 133, 73 and 72 as he took five of the next six.
Liam Highfield earned a last 32 spot with an impressive 5-3 defeat of Jack Lisowski, while Lyu Haotian top scored with 89 as he registered a 5-1 victory over Ali Carter. Lyu will be joined in Berlin by fellow Chinese potter Fan Zhengyi who made an 85 clearance in the decider to beat Lu Ning 5-4.
In round one, John Higgins – runner-up to Allen in Belfast – suffered a surprise 5-2 reverse against Noppon Saengkham, who fired runs of 105, 132, 78 and 79. Shaun Murphy scored breaks of 61, 100, 76 and 93 as he saw off Mark King 5-1.