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‘The table needs to be burned’: Mark Allen hits out at British Open conditions

World number three says that conditions are ‘absolutely embarrassing’ ahead of clash with Cork’s Aaron Hill

Mark Allen, who has labelled conditions at the British Open as 'absolutely embarrassing' and said the table he played on should be 'burned'. Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA
Tue Sept 24 2024 - 10:29

Mark Allen has hit out at “embarrassing” playing conditions at the British Open in Cheltenham, adding the table he won his first-round match on “needs to be burned”.

Allen, who was world No 1 from May to August of this year, defeated Gary Wilson 4-3 on table two at the Centaur, a venue at Cheltenham racecourse. Afterwards, he alleged that doors were left open at the venue, making the playing area “cold and humid” and the table “unplayable”.

“The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing,” the Northern Irish player told ITV. “It’s some of the worst weather outside and they’ve left the massive transport doors open. It’s so cold, it’s so humid out there.

Allen, who is now the world No 3, led Wilson 2-0 and 3-2 before advancing in a final-frame decider. “There’s new guys doing the tables this year and they’re clearly not up to it,” Allen added. “The cushions are unplayable, uncontrollable,” he said. “It was heavy … the table needs to be burned.”

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It is not the first time in recent years that the world’s top snooker players have taken issue with the facilities at ranking events. In January, Ronnie O’Sullivan criticised London’s Alexandra Palace, the regular home of the Masters tournament. “I find it disgusting,” he said. “Everywhere is dirty. Honestly, it just makes me feel ill.”

During April’s world championships, the Iranian player Hossein Vafaei attacked playing conditions at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. “You walk around the Crucible and it smells really bad,” Vafaei said, adding that the practice room made him “feel like I’m practising in my garage.”

Allen, who was runner-up to Ryan Day at the British Open in 2022, does not expect the complaints to have much impact with the World Snooker Tour [WST]. “I complain every single tournament, fill in table report sheets, match report sheets and nothing ever changes.”

“I pride myself on preparing properly for tournaments with good conditions and you turn up and you don’t get them,” Allen, who faces Cork’s Aaron Hill in the second round, concluded. “It’s not good enough.”

In a statement, WST said: “Our table-fitting team has been consistent for some time and works to the highest standards. The weather in the area has seen unprecedented rainfall over the last couple of days which can negatively influence the conditions. We have raised the issue of an open door with the venue.”

Hill produced one of the best wins of his career to knock out Ding Junhui. The world number 63 came from two frames behind to defeat the Chinese star, racking up a century along the way. His match with Allen takes place at 2pm today.

Elsewhere, Judd Trump recorded his 999th career century during a 4-1 win over Robert Milkins. Trump’s break of 104 in the opening frame leaves him one ton away from joining Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins as the only players to have reached the milestone.

The world No 1 had a chance to make the thousand mark in style in the fifth and final frame of the match. Trump looked on course to make a maximum break, but missed the 11th black on a break of 81. Higgins, who only accomplished the feat himself at last week’s English Open, eased past fellow Scot Ross Muir 4-1.

The defending British Open champion, Mark Williams, suffered a shock 4-1 defeat to Malaysia’s Rory Thor, while Ali Carter fell in a decider to Hungary’s Bulcsu Revesz.

There were no such problems for the world champion Kyren Wilson, who scorched to a 4-0 win over Julien Leclercq. Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from his scheduled first-round match against Thailand’s Manasawin Phetmalaikul on Monday morning.