Mark Allen was accused of hindering his own performance at the UK Championship before crashing out in the semi-finals. Despite struggling for form and confidence, the Northern Irishman reached the last four of the 2024 tournament, coming up against Barry Hawkins.
During the marathon match, which Hawkins clinched 6-5 at 1am, Allen was called out for his pace of play by both six-time world champion Steve Davis and current rival Shaun Murphy, who were in the BBC commentary box. Davis felt Allen’s approach was ‘sabotaging’ his game, while Murphy, who had lost to Hawkins in the previous round, suggested his apparent slow play was a deliberate tactic. Davis said: “It’s tough sometimes playing this game and it does feel like both players are dragging each other down a bit. And it’s just sometimes the balls go [Allen’s] way.
“But question marks on whether Mark Allen [is] slightly sabotaging his own ability by playing a little bit slowly, and maybe Barry Hawkins [is] trying to get free and get a bit of rhythm going.”
Murphy added: “It’s completely within the rules but at what stage do we question whether the amount of time Mark Allen is taking over simple decisions is a tactic to annoy his opponent? I can’t see any reason other than that for why he’s taking so long.”
That didn’t go down well with Allen, who later hit back at Murphy on social media, posting: “He’s absolutely entitled to his opinion on things but perhaps best to leave personal feelings out of the commentary box in future. All because I called out some of his recent BS.”
