Mark Allen says 'attitude wasn't right' after 'weird' defeat to Mitchell Mann at snooker's International Championship
Updated 02/10/2025 at 13:07 GMT+1
Mark Allen is out of the International Championship at the qualifying stage, and says his "attitude just wasn't right". The English Open champion, ranked World No. 7, was beaten 6-4 by Mitchell Mann after registering just two 50+ breaks. It means he will not be heading to the main event in China. Elsewhere, there were wins for Ricky Walden, Junxu Pang and Lei Peifan.
'Extraordinarily dramatic!' - Allen survives his FIFTH decider to take English Open title
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark Allen said his "attitude just wasn't right" after suffering a shock defeat to Mitchell Mann in qualifying for the International Championship.
The former world No. 1 is the latest high-ranking player to suffer an early elimination, following in the footsteps of former world champion Luca Brecel.
It is a surprise loss for world No. 7 Allen, who was crowned English Open champion last month, his first ranking event title since February 2024.
He showed none of that form in making just two 50-plus breaks in a 6-4 defeat to Mann in Sheffield.
The loss means Allen will not be heading to the main event of the International Championship in China.
"That was a weird one," he wrote on X. "The least I've enjoyed a snooker match in years. [My] attitude just wasn't right from ball one.
- Brecel suffers another shock exit as Doherty stuns Moody
- O'Sullivan drops Masters bombshell: 'I probably won't play in it this year'
- Watch: Robertson sees funny side of joining exclusive 1,000 century club
"Got what I deserved there. Fair play to Mitchell. Hope he does well."
Allen never got his nose in front at Ponds Forge, with Mann taking frames one and three thanks to visits of 57 and 87.
Even so, the pair were level at the mid-session interval as Allen managed to edge a couple of tight frames.
Both players made a number of errors from there, and each was guilty of missing pots they would have expected to sink.
Mann opened up a 4-2 lead after a couple of scratchy frames, only for Allen to finally find some rhythm with breaks of 85 and 82.
But his 33-year-old opponent, a British Open quarter-finalist last week, battled to victory after a composed clearance on the colours in the final frame.
It means Mann has qualified for the main venue stage of the International Championship for the first time since 2014/15, his debut season as a professional.
Elsewhere, Ricky Walden eased to a 6-1 victory over Gao Yang and Lei Peifan beat Haris Tahir 6-3.
They will be joined in Nanjing by Wu Yize and Hossein Vafaei, who beat Lan Yuhao and Fergal Quinn respectively, while there were further successes for Junxu Pang, Jimmy Robertson and Huang Jiahao.
The International Championship starts on November 2 in Nanjing, China.
- - -
Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Xi’an Grand Prix, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
Related Topics
Thoughts?
Advertisement
Advertisement