Returning King Mark Allen defeated Ding Junhui to win the UK Championship

Returning king Mark Allen claimed the biggest title of his career after winning seven frames in a row to defeat Ding Junhui 10-7 to win the UK Championship at York’s Barbican Centre.

Allen lost 6-1 against the resurgent Chinese star to once again pocket the £250,000 winner’s check for Northern Ireland, the first since Alex Higgins in 1983 to win the prestigious crown.

It capped off a remarkable tournament for the 36-year-old, who had struggled to drop at least two frames in each of his previous matches at the tournament, beating Jack Lisowski 6-5 in the semi-finals to win the last three. .

Ding will be looking to win his fourth UK title of his career after hitting three centuries in a stunning afternoon session as he bids to become the first ranked champion since winning his first title in 2005.

Ding, who had his first major whitewash against Ronnie O’Sullivan early in the match, was in irresistible form with breaks of 126 and 135 either side of the interim break, then hit 102 to move five frames ahead.

Allen gave himself a glimmer of hope when he pounced on Ding’s missed red to seal a 79-frame win in the final frame of the afternoon session – and after Ding broke for 33, the momentum shifted in the next stage. of Antrim man.

Ding didn’t bowl another ball for over an hour, when Allen reduced the deficit to 6-3 with a break of 63, before consecutive knocks of 93 and 132 got him back into the opposition frame.

Allen, who won the 2018 Masters title, took control of the next game with a break of 56, and despite Ding’s tough comeback, a missed green from the Northern Irishman ended up drawing 6-6 at the mid-session break. .

Allen broke for the first time of the match after a break of 59, setting him up to take a tough 13th frame and be ruthless in the next century. U-turn.

Ding punched the table in frustration at not being in the next position, but began to stop the rot by smashing 105, his fourth century of the match, to reduce the deficit to 8-7.

A tense red from the middle created a break of 42 from which Allen managed to get within a winning frame, and he remained calm in the 17th, which lasted nearly an hour, clenching his fists after Cam Pink sank the winner.