Allen beaten in Champion of Champions final

The Antrim ace was beaten by 10 frames to five by Neil Robertson in the final of the 188bet Champion of Champions event in Coventry on Sunday.

Allen had only secured the 16th and final place in the competition by winning the Bulgarian Open the previous week - his first title for 15 months.

He continued that form throughout the week at the Champion of Champions event, only to come unstuck against Australian Robertson, who collected the £100,000 first prize.

“Neil played very well in spells and showed why he is a former world champion and former world number one,” reflected Allen.

“I am disappointed with the way I played myself, I had more than enough chances in different parts of the match but I just wasn’t up to it today.

“I was nervous from the first frame and never settled down really and I got what I deserved.

“You have to be at your very best if you are going to compete with the likes of Neil. I said last week I thought Neil was the best all-round player in the world and he showed that in spells today. People like Neil drive me on to get better and I will go straight back to the practice table and I will get better.

“There are lots of positives to take from the last nine days, I wasn’t even in this event a week ago. The support I have had this week has been fantastic.

“This is what we play snooker for, to play in big arenas, packed out and have lots of support,” the Antrim man added.