Mark Allen made a winning start to the defence of his Grosvenor Casinos Champion of Champions title, coming from 3-0 down to beat Jak Jones 6-4 in the Group One final in Bolton.
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World number three Allen won this title for the second time last year, thrashing Judd Trump 10-3 in the final, and this time hopes to become the only player other than Ronnie O'Sullivan to lift the trophy for a third occasion.
The Northern Irishman looked in danger of defeat to Crucible runner-up Jones, who took the first three frames with a top break of 137. The key moment came in frame four when Allen potted nine reds with blacks before over-cutting a red to centre on 72, and Jones had the chance to clear the table for a 4-0 lead, but missed a straight-forward pot on the final red on 38. That allowed Allen to gain a foothold in the tie at 3-1, and he took four frames in a row after the interval with breaks of 64, 104, 66 and 82.
Jones pulled one back with a 104, his fourth century of the day, but Allen won frame ten to earn his place in the semi-finals.
"At 3-0 down I was frustrated," said 38-year-old Allen. "I tried to increase my tempo. That's why I went for a 147 in the fourth frame, I felt I needed something like that to get me back into the game. I played some good stuff after that, although I won a couple of frames which I could have lost. I love this event, it has always been one of my favourites on the calendar and I want to defend the title."
Earlier in the group semi-finals, Allen saw off Igor Figueiredo 4-2 with top breaks of 102 and 107, while Jones enjoyed a 4-2 success against Gary Wilson, firing runs of 106 and 132.
The action continues on Tuesday and Group Three promises an intense clash of World Champions, as reigning World Champion Kyren Wilson takes on 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel in the opening match, then Tour Championship winner Mark Williams squares off against Women’s World Champion Bai Yulu.