Data Shows Allen Has Best Record In Deciders

Using data going back for the past two and a half seasons, Mark Allen has a better record in deciding frames than any other player on the World Snooker Tour.

The Pistol has landed six titles since 2022 and his record in deciders helps explain the Northern Irishman's success. This data was examined by statistical analyst Chris Kempf, based on the period from the start of the 2022/23 season to the end of this month's Champion of Champions. Only players who had contested at least 20 deciding frames over that period were included. Chris writes:

The World Snooker Tour's most dangerous player in deciding frames since the beginning of the 2022/23 season has been Mark Allen, who has won 57% of frames over the past two and a half years but has won 82% of deciders. That figure is certainly enhanced by Allen's victory in the December 2023 Shoot Out, in which every frame decides the match, but even if the seven wins comprising his victorious campaign are excluded, the Pistol still has an excellent record. 

Allen is also the only player on the winning side of two tournament-deciding frames, having won the final of the Shoot Out against Cao Yupeng and a 19th-frame save to stop Judd Trump's comeback in the final of the 2023 World Grand Prix. A total of £90,000 in ranking money hung in the balance of those two frames alone, and Allen proved that he had the courage to secure the trophies in both situations.

Second on the list is Oliver Lines, who has come out on top in 71% of his deciders. He has won fewer than 50% of his frames overall over the past two years, but averages 54.8 points in deciding frames, 6.5 points more than in other frames. Lines is one of only six players to have beaten Allen in a decider, winning 4-3 at last month's Northern Ireland Open. He also won arguably the biggest frame of his career thanks to a 75 break to complete a 5-4 success against Jak Jones in the quarter-finals of the British Open. Lines' performance under pressure augurs well for a breakthrough performance in 2025. Ronnie O'Sullivan would have featured high on the list but has played just under the required minimum of 20 deciding frames. The Rocket has won 11 of his 17, that's 65%.

Allen also tops the list of most points scored per deciding frame with 63.85. Si Jiahui is close behind with 63.07, followed by John Higgins on 61.34. Snooker legend Higgins is notable for being the most likely player to produce a break of at least 50, as well as a century break, in a deciding frame. In his last two Championship League appearances, the Wizard has been equally likely to record a century in a decider as to lose a deciding frame, and more likely to leave his opponent scoreless than to lose.

Mark Williams has lost eight ranking finals on a deciding frame throughout his career and has a losing record in his deciders since the 2022 World Championship, finsihing second best 16 times out of 31. But at the recent Champion of Champions he triumphed 6-5 over Kyren Wilson thank to a critical long red early in the last frame, allowing the Welshman to amass an insurmountable 70-1 lead. World Champion Wilson has an impressive record with 30 wins from 48 deciders, but all the courage and calmness under pressure in the world can't help you if you're sitting in your chair.