I've won 11 snooker ranking titles – now I'm sacrificing everything for World Championship glory
With 11 ranking titles and a Masters crown to his name, Mark Allen is one of snooker's most successful stars.
But the Northern Irishman has one thing missing from his collection. And he's determined to do whatever it takes to ensure that he finally lifts an elusive first World Championship at the Crucible in May - even if it means sacrificing the chance of glory, and big paydays at events in the build-up.
Allen started his German Masters quest with a clinical showing against David Lilley, breezing beyond the Englishman 5-0 before exiting to Chinese star Wu Yize 5-4. But he admitted Masters winner Shaun Murphy had been spot on when he claimed that Allen had been using events to test out different strategies ahead of the biggest prize in the sport, which gets underway on April 19. Murphy had said: "My suspicion is that he’s trying to build a game that will last the test of he 17 days at the Crucible. That’s my call on it.
"I think he’s trying to build his entire game of snooker around what he thinks will lead him to success in Sheffield. It’s the only tournament that he’s missing. It’s the only trophy that he doesn’t have. It’s the one he’s searching for."
And Allen openly confirmed that his only interest is in world championship glory - with anything else a bonus - as he spoke to WST in Berlin. The No.4 seed said: "To be honest, all eyes are on Sheffield for me now. It has been that way for a while. I'm starting doing longer matches when practising. Not taking anything away from the events leading up, but I'll be experimenting here and there to see if I can get something to work.
"I am trying something very different this year. I am trying to find something that I believe will work in Sheffield. I've gone there with lots of confidence off the back of winning tournaments and not done well. I feel like I need something that will last me for 17 days and I haven't had that before."
