Snooker England Open: Leading 8-7 but overturned, Chinese star falls short, Allen claims the title

On September 22nd Beijing time, the final of the Snooker England Open concluded with Chinese star Zhou Yuelong facing off against the 11-time ranking event winner Mark Allen for the championship. The two engaged in an intense battle, and after a grueling 17 frames, Zhou Yuelong narrowly lost 8-9 to Mark Allen’s last-minute victory, once again finishing as runner-up—what a pity!

Zhou Yuelong is a well-known Chinese player who, despite extensive experience, has yet to secure a career title. This season he has struggled with poor form and is currently ranked 32nd in the world. However, in this tournament, Zhou exploded onto the scene by sweeping past top contenders such as Mark Williams, Hawkins, Brecel, and Selby to reach the final. This marks Zhou’s fourth ranking event final in his career, and it’s clear his mindset has become much steadier. In the final, he battled against Mark Allen, an aggressive player born in the 1980s, ranked tenth worldwide with a solid playing style. Allen has pulled off several comebacks during this event, including a semifinal win where he overturned a 3-5 deficit to beat Jack Jones 6-5. The two previously met three years ago in the Northern Ireland Open final, where Zhou was soundly defeated by Allen. Now facing each other again in the final, can Zhou fulfill his dream this time?

Once the match began, both players started quickly, each winning a frame to tie 1-1. Then Zhou hit a dry spell with multiple errors, while Mark Allen surged ahead with a 4-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 5-1. Zhou halted the bleeding with a winning break to make it 2-5. In the eighth frame, Allen took multiple visits to close out the frame, finishing the first session at 6-2. Starting the second session, Zhou regained form and launched a multi-frame 6-1 streak to overtake the score at 8-7, earning a match point. In frame 16, Allen led with a 71-point break but fouled the cue ball into a pocket, giving Zhou an opening. Zhou then mounted a strong comeback, gradually closing the gap and reigniting hope. However, at a critical moment, Allen forced a mistake, and after Zhou’s safety shot, the cue ball was pocketed. Allen capitalized to level the match at 8-8. After a lengthy safety battle in the deciding frame, Zhou made an attacking error, allowing Allen to seize the opportunity and clinch the frame 9-8, winning the championship in a dramatic finish!

As a result, Zhou fell just short again, which is truly unfortunate. This marks his fourth runner-up finish in ranking event finals, still searching for his first career title. Such is fate—both his mental game and technique need improvement. We look forward to his next opportunity!

Written by / Sports Fiction