Players Championship 2024: Mark Allen battles past Zhang Anda in gruelling final to lift title

Mark Allen battled to a hard-fought 10-8 win over Zhang Anda to lift the Players Championship title in Telford.

The Northern Irishman, who got the better of Mark Williams, Gary Wilson and Ali Carter to book a showdown with Zhang, was far from his fluent best but dug deep to find a route to victory.

It was an 11th ranking title for the 38-year-old and added to his successes at the Champion of Champions and Snooker Shoot Out this season.

Zhang let an early 3-0 lead slip and failed to convert a raft of chances in a contest that featured just one century, but he can be buoyed by his run to a third ranking event final, which included wins over both John Higgins and Mark Selby.

But in the end, he ran out of steam against the world No. 3, who admitted it was one for the purists.

“I’m not sure I’ve got pretty left in me,” Allen said, after coming through a gruelling encounter. “It was tough all day and with how well Zhang has played all week, I think I actually dragged him down a little bit.

“I gave it everything, my safety was good, it really kept me in the match. It wasn’t a lot of fun to be involved in but I’m really happy to be standing here as the winner.”

Resuming at 4-4, big breaks were few and far between in a cagey evening session as both players struggled to find any sort of rhythm.

Allen needed multiple bites at the cherry to clinch the opener and it was roles reversed in the next as Zhang quickly levelled after falling behind for the first time.

And that was the theme throughout. There was the odd flash of brilliance – a long red here and there – but both appeared more concerned with not losing rather than taking the contest by the scruff of the neck.

The next two frames were shared. Zhang made the first 50-plus break of the evening to move 6-5 ahead after capitalising on more Allen errors and had a chance to create some daylight in the next after nailing a red from distance.

But he was back in his seat just 18 points later after a delicate attempt to split the pack went wrong. Allen, with a reprieve, made 46 in response before breaking down but eventually got over the line to make it 6-6 at the interval.

The snooker gods looked unfavourably on Zhang when play resumed. After a good opener, he came unstuck on 30 when a canon into the bunch off the blue knocked a red in, and he was punished heavily.

With a break of 64, which was just his second contribution of 50 or more in the match, Allen moved 7-6 clear and then dealt Zhang a body blow in the next.

The world No. 13 failed to make the most of multiple chances, which allowed Allen to steal the frame on the black to get within two of victory.

Zhang did, however, stop the rot to reduce his arrears to one but passed up a gilt-edged opportunity to level as Allen creeped ever closer to the winning line at 9-7.

He was made to wait after Zhang clinched a 37-minute frame to keep his hopes alive but, approaching midnight and spurred on by fortuitous plant, he eventually saw off the challenge of Zhang to get his hands on another trophy.