Allen stuns Stevens

Allen: Won four successive frames to seal victory

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen is through to the second round of the World Championships after his late fightback stunned Matthew Stevens.

Allen looked down and out as he trailed Stevens 9-6, however he rattled off four frames on the bounce to snatch the narrowest of victories.

For Stevens, a dual runner-up at the Crucible Theatre, it was a case of what could have been.

Although he has not even qualified for the event in the last two years, he is on his way back up the rankings and should have claimed a last 16-place.

Allen trailed 5-4 after the first session and Stevens took four of the first six frames in the evening to move within one of victory.

However, Allen pulled one back with a break of 103, won the next 60-59, and then took another tight frame to force a decider.

Both players had their chances in the 19th frame but Allen eventually came up with a crucial break of 45 to win it 91-26 and celebrated a dramatic win with his young daughter Lauren, who watched on from the front row.

Important

And Allen claims having his daughter there to cheer him on had inspired him to success.

Allen said: "It's the biggest win of my career. To win a final frame here at the Crucible against a player of Matthew's quality in front of a packed house with my little girl watching in the front row, it doesn't get much better than that.

"You think to yourself that you don't want to let her down, even though she'll probably not remember it when she grows up.

"It's great to have her there, full stop, whether I win or lose. I haven't got to see her that much over the last few years. That's definitely what's important to me.

"I think it scared her when I shouted. You know what your priorities are when you see your child in the front row."

Mark Selby is seen as one the favourites to win the event and he is on course to play Stephen Hendry in round two after winning eight frames in a row to claim an 8-1 lead over Crucible debutant Jimmy Robertson.

However, it was not a high-scoring contest, an 82 from Selby in the last frame of the session the only break to top 50.