MARK ALLEN has urged Shaun Murphy to “leave personal feelings out of the commentary box” after he was criticised for an “annoying” tactic.
Allen, 38, lost 6-5 to Barry Hawkins in the semi-finals of the UK Championship on Saturday in a fiercely-contested match.
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Mark Allen has responded to Shaun Murphy’s criticismGetty
Murphy made the comments about Allen while on BBC commentaryPA
Murphy, 42, was in the commentary box for the BBC and questioned Allen’s reasoning for taking time with his shots.
He said: “Now, it’s completely within the rules, but at what stage do we question whether the amount of time Mark Allen is taking over simple decisions is a tactic to annoy his opponent?
“I think we are witnessing an extremely clever, well thought out match from Mark Allen to try and beat the man.
“It’s an old school tactic. It’s from a playbook my generation and Mark’s generation are from. And it’s perfectly within the rules.
“But I can’t see any reason, other than that for why he’s taking so long. As you look at Barry in his chair, you might say it was working.”
Murphy has exchanged verbals with Allen in the past, labelling him “rude and amateurish” before the Northern Irishman responded by calling The Magician “irrelevant“.
And as Allen reflected on his defeat on social media, he claimed Murphy’s personal vendetta was the reason for the comments about his snooker tactics.
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He said: “Not to be in this years UK Championships. The better player on the day won.
“Good luck to both Judd and Barry in the final… For those criticising… I always give 100 per cent, it might not be pretty at times but I’m trying my best. Some other players could learn from it.
“And as for Shaun in comms. He’s absolutely entitled to his opinion on things but perhaps best to leave personal feelings out of the commentary box in future.
“All because I called out some of his recent BS .”
Hawkins will face Judd Trump in the final of the UK Championship on Sunday.
Trump, who beat Kyren Wilson 6-2 in his semi-final, won the tournament back in 2011 and lost two finals in 2014 and 2020.
Hawkins is appearing in the final for the first time.
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
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