Allen survives Zhou comeback to win English Open

Mark Allen won the English Open in a final-frame decider and earned his first ranking title in 19 months after coming back from China’s Zhou Yuelong.

Allen, a Northern Irishman, won the final of the Sunday matchup in Brentwood 6-2 and 7-3 before Zhou roared back to win the frame for the first time.

However, Allen, the former world number one, exhibited his own recovery abilities by winning the final two frames and falling to 9-8 in a seven-hour, two-session finale.

This is Allen’s 12th ranking success and his first since the Players Championship in February 2024.

With his victory on Sunday, 39-year-old Allen won the $ 100,000 Steve Davis Trophy for the first time and received the top prize.

The former UK Championship and Masters winner, who also defeated Stuart Bingham, Ding Junhui, Elliot Slessor, and Jak Jones in final frame deciders, came away with a fitting conclusion to the week.

Allen remarked, “I thought Zhou battled really hard in that second session, and he played some good stuff.”

I missed a few balls and was nervous because of him. Although I missed a few things that shouldn’t, I suddenly jumped in at 8 / 7 and started to recover.

A late-night rally from 4-0 down to defeat Slessor in Friday’s best-of-nine quarter-final was a theme of Allen’s tournament, which included a fearsome comeback.

In the semi-final on Saturday against Zhou, who he defeated in the 2022 Northern Ireland Open final, Allen also needed the final three frames to defeat Jones 6-5.

In the opening frame, Allen won the game with a superb 132 clearance, and he immediately won five of Zhou’s six remaining frames to take control of the opener.

Allen was on course for his 12th ranking success at the time, but Zhou made a remarkable turnaround as he awaited his first ranking success.

Zhou defeated former world champions Mark Williams, Luca Brecel, and Mark Selby in the final four frames to draw level at 7-7 with an increasingly out-of-sorts Allen after sharing the first two frames of an evening session marked by protracted safety fights.

After winning the final two frames and capturing the title in dramatic fashion, Allen dug deep when facing defeat in the face for the fifth time in the tournament with a break of 53 to put Zhou in front for the first time.

I haven’t slept much because I’ve been here most of the time, but I feel very relaxed today, Allen said.