Mark Allen fights back against Zhou Yuelong as Northern Ireland Open final all square ahead of night session

Mark Allen and Zhou Yuelong are neck-and-neck at 4-4 ahead of the evening session of the Northern Ireland Open final after a tense, scrappy but, at times, brilliant opening session where the Northern Irishman won the final three frames to keep his hopes of a successful title defence alive.

Allen began with the confidence of a defending champion, opening with a run of 57 to get on the scoreboard. However, a missed red to the left corner in the second frame re-set the initiative, with Zhou seizing his opportunity to go to the mid-session interval with a two-frame advantage at 3-1.

The 24-year-old first put together a run of 56 before a total clearance of 135 in the third, and also took the fourth, despite a moment of refereeing controversy in a frame that went beyond 30 minutes.

Zhou saw the shot clock tick past two minutes as he pored over a tough call at the table, having established a lead of 61-17.

Perhaps frustrated after having handed the player the rest and then having had to put it back again, referee Leo Scullion gave Zhou a surprising warning.

“You need to decide” he implored the 24-year-old after the two-minute mark.

Scullion repeated the warning to the Chinese player, who then swiftly rushed to take the shot. As it happened, he pulled off a perfectly good safety shot with the cue ball finding its way to baulk.

Allen would fight to try to stay in the frame, and managed to get within touching distance after a safety exchange. However, ultimately a loose safety shot would see Zhou claim the frame.

The 24-year-old would also take the fifth frame – a near-50-minute epic – to open up a three-frame advantage, ensuring that he would at least go to the evening session on par.

Allen needed to act quickly, and that was exactly what he did, producing a brilliant response with a break of 68, his best of the final and enough to narrow the deficit to 4-2.

Confidence bolstered, Allen went on to dominate the seventh frame, before levelling things up to the delight of the home crowd with with a break of 55 in the eighth that helped clinch a third consecutive frame as the Northern Irishman ended the first session on a high.

Sunday’s order of play

Sunday October 23

Final – best-of-17 frames

13:00 & 19:00

• Mark Allen v Zhou Yuelong

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