Mark Allen of Northern Ireland made an incredible comeback to defeat Ding Junhui 10-7 and win his first UK Championship after falling behind 6-1.
Ding, 35, appeared to be in perfect control as he made it to what would have been his fourth UK victory with three hundreds in the first seven sets.
But as the match turned around, Allen won the final frame of the afternoon session and the first six of the evening session.
Although Ding hit 105 shots in the 15th round, Allen still prevailed spectacularly.
In the 45-year history of the competition, the match, which didn’t end until 23:30 GMT, will be remembered as one of the most thrilling UK Championship finals.
‘Changed man’ Allen seeks world championship following UK victory
Relive
the UK Championship final live, with commentary and analysis
O’Sullivan will play Brecel in opening round of Masters after Allen declares himself bankrupt “It’s absolutely amazing and I don’t really know how I have won that,” remarked Allen. “I haven’t played well for the majority of the week, and in the first session, I didn’t play well and was penalized.
“I persevered and won the final frame, as well as the second session’s initial break of 60. I felt fantastic and continued to score.
“At 6-6, I was so assured. One of my biggest victories was overturning Ding in a best of 19 frames match after falling behind 6-1; he is an absolute legend.
“I was having a hard time, but I was just trying to think positively. I only asked, “Can I win the next frame?” ultimately “yes” is the response.
“I’m working to establish my own legacy, but I’m a long way off from doing so right now. I’ve advanced to the final in one ranking event and finished second in the other, so I must be doing something right. I won’t change that.
Despite the fact that Allen, 36, was declared bankrupt in May 2021 and had previously stated that he was “spending the money as quickly as he earned it,” he now receives the £250,000 top prize thanks to this triumph.
It continues a spectacular few months for him after he made the decision to alter his life in the summer by beginning an intense exercise regimen that resulted in a four-month weight loss of five stone.
After winning the Northern Ireland Open last month and making it to the British Open final in October, he has since won back-to-back ranking events.
He is currently ranked fifth in the world, and after defeating Kyren Wilson to win the 2018 Masters, this was his second triumph in a “Triple Crown” competition.
Allen
displays mental toughness to win epic final once more
In each of his matches in this competition, Allen came from two frames behind to win, but this comeback was extraordinary.
In a match that ended at 23:15 on Saturday, he overcame a 5-3 deficit to defeat Jack Lisowski on the final black.
However, he was behind 6-1 after three and a half hours of play on Sunday at York Barbican.
After that semi-final victory, Allen had talked about his mental toughness. He once more shown his character as he started a phenomenal run of play that saw him rack up 357 points without receiving a single point in return while Ding spent nearly an hour without potting a ball.
intervals
