Oliver Lines cited the power of positive thinking as the reason for his improvement this season as he knocked home favourite Mark Allen out of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open with a 4-3 victory at the last 32 stage.
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Allen's fans in Belfast had hoped their man could go all the way to the title this week, as he did in 2021 and 2022, but the Antrim cueman was well below his best today as world number 83 Lines registered one of the biggest wins of his career so far. The Leeds potter will meet Neil Robertson or Wang Yuchen next.
Lines, age 29, first turned professional ten years ago and reached his first ranking event semi-final last month at the British Open. "I'm not beating myself up as much if I miss a ball," he said after today's win. "And I'm not thinking negatively. In the last frame today I missed a chance but I told myself to keep calm because I might get another opportunity. As long as I think the right way, things seem to be happening for me. You can start doubting shots and looking for problems that aren't there. I was nervous towards the end of the match but I had to convince myself that I still felt good.
"I have worked harder in general this season, concentrating more in practice, and it seems to be paying off at the moment. It's a big win for me because Mark is a top player and it's his home tournament."
Lines took the opening frame with a 31 clearance before world number three Allen levelled with a break of 87. Lines regained the lead with a 73 before Allen took two scrappy frames to lead 3-2. A run of 53 helped Lines level at 3-3, and he led 30-0 in the decider when he missed the blue off its spot. Allen had a clear scoring chance but took just one red before failing to pot the pink to a centre pocket, and Lines added 26 which proved enough.
Allen said: "It was a poor performance and Oli deserved to win. I felt edgy today and I'm not sure why. I had more than enough chances but I wasn't good enough."
Martin O'Donnell, runner-up at last season's BetVictor Welsh Open, enjoyed a 4-2 success against Jimmy White. From 2-1 down, O'Donnell took the last three frames with a top break of 103. "I would love to get to another final because I learned a lot from the one in Llandudno last season," said O'Donnell. "I would do a few things differently if I got another opportunity and hopefully get over the line."
Elliot Slessor compiled breaks of 88, 103 and 62 in a 4-2 win over Long Zehuang while Lei Peifan made a 115 in an impressive 4-1 win over Tom Ford. Luca Brecel's poor start to the season continued as the 2023 World Champion went down 4-1 to Pang Junxu, who knocked in runs of 63, 71 and 118. Ma Hailong was another Chinese winner as he beat last year's runner-up Chris Wakelin 4-1 with a top break of 137.