Northern Irish snooker star Mark Allen dedicated a potentially season-turning title at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship to former coach Terry Griffiths.

The world No.4 enjoyed a 15-year spell with Griffiths, the 1979 world champion who sadly passed away last month. And it was the second mentor Allen has lost in the past 18 months after Joe Shortt’s passing last year.

The Antrim ace, 38, was frustrated with his game and felt “lost” just weeks ago. But he ended 2024 with a bang as he banked the joint highest payday of his career, £250,000, by beating Luca Brecel 5-1 in the Saudi Arabian desert.

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“That was for Terry and Joe,” said Allen, after a first trophy since February. “They’ll always be out there with me and I hope I’m doing them proud.

“It’s great to win any tournament, but to win an event when it’s the top 10 players is extra special.

“I’ve got the enjoyment back with my game. I really wasn’t enjoying the way I was playing for a few months and that was even when I was winning matches or winning tournaments over the past couple of seasons.

“I’ve started playing quicker and I’m enjoying it a lot more than I was.”

Allen pocketed a tidy Christmas bonus which matched the cheque for winning the UK Championship two years ago.

And he added: “I’m not going to lie, the money’s great and we all have bills to pay and stuff like that.

“But I promise you, I wasn’t thinking about the money at all. During the presentation they said Luca won £125,000 as runner-up and I thought it was £100,000, so that shows I’m not focused on the money.

“I just want to win tournaments and if I keep winning titles then the money will take care of itself.”

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