2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Aaron Morris)
Mark Allen has admitted he is inspired by Rory McIlroy as he heads to the World Snooker Championship as he hopes to finally secure the coveted Triple Crown. The Northern Irishman, who claimed a Masters title in 2018 and a UK Championship four years later, is still searching for a World Snooker Championship win which would put him in an elite club made up of just eleven men. And as the finest snooker stars across the globe head to Sheffield's Crucible Theatre to chase one of sport's most prestigious awards, Allen has high hopes that 2025 will be his year.
He said: "There are so many comparisons. That was Rory's [17th] Masters , this is my 19th Crucible. One tournament away from completing the Triple Crown for me, the Grand Slam for him.
I watched every single shot on Sunday [of the Masters final round], I was glued to it, the ups, the downs, the drama. "He's won it, he's lost it, he's won it again, he's lost it. To win it in a play-off, you can see what it meant to him.
I'll try to take as much inspiration from him as I can. If it's not this year, I'll be back next year for more. "I'll just keep working hard and hopefully that door will open for me like it did for Rory.
" He added: "He said in his interviews how he tried to be positive every year and he always believed he had the game to win there. That's what I believe here. I've won everything else the game has to offer so what should be different here at the Crucible.
" McIlroy headed into last Sunday's Masters final at Augusta National with a wealth of pressure on him. Having clinched a pair of PGA Championships, a US Open and an Open Championship, the Green Jacket was the only major golfing honour that had evaded him for his entire career. However, McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam via a nail-biting play-off with Justin Rose - becoming only the sixth man to have ever done so in the history of the sport, alongside Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
Despite holding 11 ranking titles to his name over the course of his career, Allen is yet to have made it to the finals of the World Snooker Championship - making it all the way to the semis in 2009 and 2023 before being omitted by John Higgins and Mark Selby respectively. Allen has endured a largely disappointing season headed to the Crucible in 2025, dropping from first in the world rankings from last year's outing to eighth at present. Speaking about his season, Allen said: "It hasn't been a good season.
"Can't put my finger on why, I've been working as hard as I always do, I just haven't played well enough. I know I won out in Saudi but I don't feel as if my game is as good as I would like it to be, but this isn't a bad place to try and put that right. "You look at the season Kyren [Wilson] had last year, he had a worse season than what I've had, but he walked away as world champion after 17 days at Sheffield.
That's what I'm pinning my hopes on, hoping I can find some inspiration here." However, he believes that he will return to his incredible form, explaining that he has prepared endlessly as the World Snooker Championship approaches. He added: "All you can do is prepare as well as you can prepare, which I always do.
"I work hard at the practice table, get a bit fitter off it and working with the sports psychologist. It's not that I'm not trying to get better. It just hasn't happened yet, but I still believe I will.
" Allen is set to face Fan Zhengyi in his first round of the World Snooker Championship on Sunday..
