MARK ALLEN has emphatically hit back at criticism of his slow play at last weekend’s UK Championship.
The Northern Irishman is currently embroiled in a feud with former world champion and BBC snooker pundit Shaun Murphy over the time he takes before playing his shots
GETTYMark Allen has been blasted over his slow play as of late[/caption]
GETTYThe Northern Irishman has hit back at his critics in blistering fashion[/caption]
Their feud escalated last weekend in York following Allen’s mammoth five-hour semi-final with Barry Hawkins, which he lost 6-5.
Allen’s average shot time during the match was a whopping 31.5 seconds.
He was quizzed about his shot time by Eurosport, with presenter Rachel Casey asking: “You had a marathon match with Barry Hawkins at the UK Championship.
“I know that your shot time was on the high side for you. But there’s no pressure on you, right?”
A bullish Allen replied: “Even that shot time means nothing to me because I try my best. I’ll never, ever apologise for giving 100 per cent.
“If that’s 32 seconds on one day or 22 on another day, I don’t actually care.”
Casey then said: “You’re a Shootout winner, you can play very fast, you can play really good stuff.”
Allen proceeded to reveal his opposition to the Shootout being a ranking event.
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List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
1969 – John Spencer
1970 – Ray Reardon
1971 – John Spencer
1972 – Alex Higgins
1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
1977 – John Spencer (2)
1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
1979 – Terry Griffiths
1980 – Cliff Thorburn
1981 – Steve Davis
1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
1983 – Steve Davis (2)
1984 – Steve Davis (3)
1985 – Dennis Taylor
1986 – Joe Johnson
1987 – Steve Davis (4)
1988 – Steve Davis (5)
1989 – Steve Davis (6)
1990 – Stephen Hendry
1991 – John Parrott
1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
1997 – Ken Doherty
1998 – John Higgins
1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
2000 – Mark Williams
2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2002 – Peter Ebdon
2003 – Mark Williams (2)
2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
2005 – Shaun Murphy
2006 – Graeme Dott
2007 – John Higgins (2)
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
2009 – John Higgins (3)
2010 – Neil Robertson
2011 – John Higgins (4)
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
2014 – Mark Selby
2015 – Stuart Bingham
2016 – Mark Selby (2)
2017 – Mark Selby (3)
2018 – Mark Williams (3)
2019 – Judd Trump
2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
2021 – Mark Selby (4)
2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
2023 – Luca Brecel
2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
2 – Alex Higgins
The Antrim ace said: “I still don’t think this should be a ranking event, but it is what it is.
“I still come here and try to enjoy it. I love the event, it changed my season last year.
“It can make or break a lot of seasons – but it’s just a lottery.”
Allen continued to double down on his staunch defence of his play against Hawkins, saying: “I didn’t go into that match trying to slow it down, absolutely not.
“I try and pot every ball I see and clear the table every chance I get.”
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