Mark Allen reaches Players Championship final

Mark Allen

Mark Allen beat Ali Carter 6-3 to book his place in the final of the Players Championship in Telford.

The Northern Irishman, who won the tournament in 2016, chalked up another impressive scalp having already seen off Mark Williams and Gary Wilson as he finished strongest in the first semi-final.

The scores were tied at 3-3 when Allen took control of proceedings, reeling off three frames on the bounce to set up a clash with Zhang Anda or Mark Selby.

Allen edged the first frame thanks to a smart yellow in the bottom left pocket that opened up the table but saw his lead wiped out as Carter hit back.

There was little to pick between the pair heading into the mid-session break, Allen notching up a break of 108 in the third only to watch as Carter responded with 106 of his own.

Carter blinked first as he gave up the lead once again with errors in a closely fought fifth frame and, although he was able to level up for the third time, Allen was about to make his move.

He won back-to-back frames for the first time, leaving him one away from victory. The pair took it deep with a series of visits before Allen finally seized the opportunity to clear up, sending the black into the centre-right to wrap things up.

Saturday’s action sees Selby attempt to recreate the form that allowed him to blow away Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 in the quarter-finals, with third-seed Zhang standing in his way.