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Belfast potter primed to break his trophy duck
ULSTERMAN Mark Allen came within a whisker of reaching last year's Betfred.com World Championship final at only the third attempt.
And the Belfast potter goes to Sheffield on Saturday in confident mood that his game is in good enough shape to cause some damage on snooker's biggest stage.
Allen was beaten by eventual champion John Higgins in last year's semi-finals despite a brave comeback which saw him push the successful Scot all the way.
But along the way disposed of title favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan with a famous quarter-final win and is now firmly established as one of the best players in the sport.
"You can only learn from your experiences, there was no disgrace losing to John in last year's semi-finals," reflected Allen. "I had such a poor start I left myself too much to do, but I think I won ten out of the next 13 frames in the match and put him under real pressure.
"And beating Ronnie, especially at the Crucible, was probably one of my best-ever performances.
"It's a long tournament and there's always a lot of pressure on you, but these are the occasions you look forward to as a player.
"I grew up watching the likes of Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry on the television, so be playing at the Crucible means a lot to me. There's so much history and prestige attached to the tournament, it's where you test yourself as a player."
And Allen is certainly not afraid of a challenge. The Antrim-based professional has already beaten most of the top players, but has yet to win his first major title.
Breaking that duck in Sheffield would understandably be extra special, although the world No 11 is happy to quietly go under the radar at this year's tournament, which runs 17 April - 3 May.
"I had a slow start to the season, but I've been to the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the last two ranking tournaments, so I'm happy with my form," added Allen.
"It's taken the pressure off me going to Sheffield because at one stage my top 16 place was in jeopardy. But now I've got a chance of possibly breaking into the top 8, which would be another big achievement for me.
"Ronnie (O'Sullivan] and John (Higgins] are the two real favourites for the tournament; they've been the most consistent performers in the last couple of years.
"But that suits me because it's all about what I do."
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
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