World number four, Mark Allen warmed up for a potentially huge 2025 by winning one of the biggest tournaments of his career, holding his nerve to win the Riyadh Snooker Season Championship.
Carrying one of the biggest prize pots of the year, Allen potted a cool £250,000 and ensured that heading into the Masters that will start in a few weeks time, he will start as one of the big favourites.
As has now become the way across the world of sport, sport and Saudi has become huge business and that is certainly the case when it comes to snooker. With all of snooker’s biggest names in attendance, the action was of the highest class and there was certainly no shortage of drama.
Here are the tournament's main talking points.
After several near misses, Allen finally gets over the line
2024 has been a bit of a mixed year for Mark Allen as a whole. Consistent in terms of his overall results, the Northern Irishman is a regular force at the majority of tournaments that he plays in, but he would have been disappointed to have come out of the wrong side in so many tight and big matches.
A loser in the semi finals of both the Scottish and British Opens, he has also enjoyed deep runs at the English and Welsh Opens.
Without a title to his name in 2024, he would have headed over to Saudi Arabia desperate to set the record right.
Handed a place in the quarterfinals due to his ranking, he kicked off proceedings against four time world champion Mark Selby.
In what was a tight encounter, Selby found himself 2-1 to the good after the first three frames but could only watch on as Allen played some of the best snooker of his career to flip the contest on its head and win the match 4-2.
From there his task wouldn’t get any easier as standing in his way and a place in the final was Ronnie O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan, who has made no secret that he plays the game purely for cash, would have wanted to bring the best version of himself to the table and started the contest as the favourite for the win.
However with Allen in great spirits following his quarterfinal victory over the tricky Selby, Allen quickly found himself 3-1 to the good and just a single frame away from the final.
The seven time World Champion would end up winning the fifth frame of the match to close it to 3-2 but this time Allen was able to do enough and close out the match. Getting in amongst the balls, he made no mistake and was able to win the sixth frame and book his place in the final.
Awaiting him there was yet another former World Champion in the shape of the highly talented Luca Brecel.
As he has proved on so many occasions in the past, it’s hard to know what version of Brecel will show up and things looked ominous for the world number four early on as the Belgian stormed to the opening frame.
With Brecel looking to be on his A game, few would believe that the opening frame would be the only one he would go onto win, as from there Allan would go on to produce a masterclass.
Needing five frames for the victory, he would win five frames in a row and complete a sensational victory.
We have all known for years that Allen has the talent to win the sports biggest prizes but it’s his temperament that can often hold him back. Here, he showed that when he can piece it altogether there are very few that can stop him.
He will start as one of the favourites for the Masters and he will be a serious force at the World Championship. Currently playing some of the best snooker of his career, he will hope that his win in Saudi is just the start of something and 2025 is his year.
Trump and Williams crash out early
As is often the case every time he takes to the tables, Judd Trump started the week as the favourite for victory and was looking to extend the gap between himself and world number two Kyren Wilson even further.
It’s been a fantastic year for the Englishman but in a year that has seen him consistently compete, this latest stop over in Riyadh looked to be a bridge too far as he surprisingly fell in his first match to Mark Williams.
Whilst there is certainly no embarrassment in losing to a multiple World Champion, Trump had worked his way into a winning position and would have been disappointed not to have closed the contest out when leading at 3-2.
Although 2024 has been a brilliant one for the man from Bristol, another World Championship slipped him by and that is something he will want to amend next year. One World Championship for a man of his talents isn’t enough and he will hope to capture a second world title next May.
It was a similar story for current World Champion Kyren Wilson. He has shown throughout the year that his world title win wasn’t a flash in the pan and he was recently a winner of the Northern Irish Open.
Both he and Trump are starting to develop a brilliant rivalry but the two didn’t meet here. After Trump had crashed out early, Wilson would go on to suffer a similar fate.
Squaring off against Luca Brecel, many felt that was a match that he would have won, but with the match going to a final frame decider, it was Brecel who emerged victorious.
Wilson has had a brilliant 2024 and has finished the season as one of the best players in the world. He will be hungry for plenty more success and will hope that 2025 can yield similar results.
Jonathan Ashby
Jonathan Ashby, at 35, boasts a deep well of knowledge about the world of snooker. A specialist with a passion for the game's history, techniques, and players, he provides invaluable insights to both novices and seasoned enthusiasts. Through his articles, Jonathan aims to share the rich tapestry and nuances of this beloved cue sport.
 (1).webp)
