‘That table is disgusting’ – Mark Allen calls on World Snooker to improve state of tables at Home Nations events

Mark Allen has called on World Snooker to help the players by improving the condition of the tables at the Home Nations events.

The scoreline was impressive, and he was by some distance the better player, but the Northern Irishman came off and spoke out about the state of the table at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

“I can say it now I have won 4-0, but that table is disgusting,” Allen said in the Eurosport studio. “It is really bad.

“It is so different from the first two days’ play. It is heavy, it is drifting and playing tighter than normal.

“It is horrible, horrible to play on and it is about getting four frames and getting through.

“Hopefully scrape through to Saturday with the one table and will get recovered.

“That is as diplomatic as I could have put it.”

Allen said that the conditions in the first two days were good, and feels officials need to add one extra re-cover of tables to add to the one that takes place before the semi-finals.

“World Snooker base their re-covers at these tournaments off the old format of 32 players at the tournament, so there was always the recover at the semi-final stage,” Allen said. “Now you have 82 players here.

“It needs an extra re-cover at that last-16 stage. It was nearly unplayable there and does not lend itself to good snooker.

“We have been crying out for years to get an extra re-cover in. It is not a lot of money to do three tables, about £1,500.

“It is not like World Snooker to scrimp on things, they are normally pretty good at putting their hands in their pockets, but that is something that needs to change.

“That last-16 and quarter-final day at Home Nations, it is nearly unplayable.”

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