Mark Allen tumbles out of Welsh Open after below-par display in 5-1 loss to Robert Milkins

Robert Milkins’ renaissance continued as he sent a below-par Mark Allen crashing out of the Welsh Open 5-1 at the quarter-final stage.

After the lows of leaving the Turkish Masters in disgrace 12 months ago, Milkins has hauled himself off the canvas in some style.

He won the Gibraltar Open shortly after his troubles in Turkey, and has carried that positive momentum into the current campaign.

A series of good results, the highlight being a run to the semi-finals of the German Masters, raised confidence – and belief that he could win.

That belief was important in Llandudno on Friday, as he and Allen were well below their best but Milkins did enough to book a meeting with Tian Pengfei.

There was a lot on the line in a financial sense for both players, with them in the hunt for £150,000 BetVictor Series bonus, and Milkins and Allen made tentative starts.

A host of chances were passed up by both players in the opening frame, and it was in the balance on the colours. Allen coughed up a chance and Milkins picked them off to edge in front.

The standard remained low in the second, but Milkins eked out a break of 41 and then powered in a superb long red to double his advantage.

Allen arrived in Wales as a three-time winner in 2022/23, and the season’s standout performer. He said he was working on a technical aspect of his game, and it did appear as if he was not fully settled.

He seized on a poor safety from Milkins in the third to get some table time, but needed a number of chances to open his account.

Allen’s frustrations continued in the fourth as he got in only to carelessly run out of position.

The potting left a lot to be desired, but there was some decent safety on display in the fourth.

But it was a missed pot that proved pivotal, as Allen missed the green and Milkins stepped in to clear and eke out a 3-1 lead – with the highest break of the match at the mid-session interval being 41.

Allen went to the practice table at the interval, but it did not change his fortunes as he continued to miss makeable balls and Milkins – despite being way short of his best – crafted a run of 46 to move 4-1 in front.

Allen held a 5-1 head-to-head advantage over Milkins, but never looked like extending it. The evening’s snooker suggested reaching the winning line was not going to be easy – and so it proved.

After 50 minutes, it boiled down to a battle on the final black and after a mesmerising safety battle, Milkins knocked in a stunning long pot to bottom left to keep his hopes of the £150,000 bonus alive.

Ali Carter was likely an interested spectator, as he currently occupies the top spot and will be pulling for the likes of Shaun Murphy and Tian at the weekend.

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