NI OPEN SNOOKER: Mark Allen crashes out as Anthony Hamilton shines

Mark Allen.Mark Allen.
Mark Allen.
Mark Allen crashed out of the Northern Ireland Open last night after losing 5-2 to Anthony Hamilton in their quarter-final clash in Belfast.

Hamilton - who has yet to win a ranking tournament - won a scrappy encounter against Allen, who never really hit the heights of previous rounds.

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Hamilton, knocked in breaks of 96 and 78 on his way to going 3-0 up against Allen.

Allen managed to win two frames during the game but struggled to perform in front the fans in Belfast who had come out to support him.

And Hamilton was delighted to get through to the next round.

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“A month ago I was skint and now I’m in the semi-finals,” a delighted Hamilton told eurosport.

“I’m not playing great but I’m through and that last frame was one I felt I had to win.

“It is great to be through to the next round and I thought I played some good stuff in there.

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“Maybe Mark was not at his best but it was good to get the win and let us see what I can do from here.” he added.

Mark King beat Iranian Hossein Vafaei Ayouri 5-3 in last night’s other quarter-final.

Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins secured a semi-final spot at the Titanic Exhibition Centre earlier yesterday.

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Wilson - who beat five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last round - edged Mark Williams of Wales 5-4.

Wilson came through another tight tussle after defeating O’Sullivan 4-3 on Thursday night.

The players were not separated by more than one frame throughout the match with Williams levelling to make it 4-4.

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Wilson, who compiled breaks of 95 and 91, won the decider 76-1 and he will face King today.

Hawkins produced a best break of 70 in the last frame of his win over Welshman White.

“As the week has gone on I’ve felt more confident,” Hawkins told worldsnooker.com.

“One day to the next can be completely different. I’ll just try to keep my focus and try to concentrate and see what happens but there are no guarantees.”