Mark Allen wins 2020 Champion of Champions

Mark Allen has won the 2020 Champion of Champions, defeating defending title-holder Neil Robertson 10-6 in the final to emerge victorious in this tournament for the first time.

The Antrim player, who qualified through the world rankings (alongside John Higgins and David Gilbert), showed an impressive run of form to vanquish Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump, and it continued as he defeated his Australian opponent. The two players had met before in the 2015 final, but this time, it was Allen who was generally in control of proceedings.

He won the first frame with a century break of 101, then Robertson immediately responded with a 121 of his own, the highest break of the match. The next two frames were battles, both of which ultimately went the way of Allen, before a Robertson break of 63 was enough to pull one back.

The Australian sat in his chair as Allen made 110 to make the score line 4-2, and then the tables were turned as Robertson produced breaks of 119 and 109 to level at 4-4. It appeared that he was getting in the flow, and the last frame of the session looked crucial for both players. It would ultimately be Allen’s, as a 67 break was enough to secure a 5-4 lead heading into the evening.

When play resumed, Allen extended his lead with an 84 break, and Robertson kept up the pursuit by taking the next. The duo shared the next two – Allen made 53, and then in the tightest match of the match, Robertson’s 67 was just enough to secure frame 13 and make the scoreboard 7-6.

Mark thoroughly deserved to win the match

– Neil Robertson

That would be the last time that Robertson really contributed to the match, with even a spirited 51 in frame 15 failing to help him – after the last mid-session interval, it was all Allen. Robertson could do little but sit in his chair and watch as his opponent assembled breaks of 119, 70 and a final century of 105 to cross the finish line. As a result, Allen takes the title and £150,000 in prize money – given the way he has played in recent years,

Allen was nearly knocked out in the first round against Scott Donaldson – he recovered, and then beat the top three players in the world to secure the title, something he reflected on in the post-match interview.

He said: “It doesn’t get much tougher than that. Obviously I could have got beaten in the first round by Scott Donaldson. I was a few balls away from losing that match 4-2.

“I don’t quite feel like I deserve to be here but I took full advantage by going on to win and beating world numbers one, two and three in succession to win a big tournament like this is what we play for.”

Robertson praised his opponent, stating: “Mark thoroughly deserved to win the match, he played brilliantly throughout.

“He has beaten some great players on the way to winning it, much like I did last year, so that will make him feel fantastic about his performances this week.”