MARK ALLEN overcame his heartbreak to give a very classy post-match interview after his semi-final Crucible exit to Wu Yize.
The Northern Irish potter’s went right down to the final frame of 33 on Saturday evening.
Mark Allen gave an elegant interview after being knocked out of the World Snooker Championship Credit: BBC
He lost out to 22-year-old Wu Yize after a heart-breaking mistake Credit: Getty
The match – which – proved to be a fascinating back-and-forth tactical battle.
Allen had the edge with two frames remaining, and even got to the point
But the cueist – who could have been the oldest ever first-time Worlds winner at 40 – crumbled under the pressure, allowing Wu to clear up and eventually .
The Pistol had every right to be distraught after the brutal loss, but surprised fans with the graciousness of his post-match comments.
He told Sport: “You don’t deserve to be in a world final if you’re missing balls like that. That was pure pressure to be honest.
“Normally I’m pretty good under pressure but I just didn’t handle it well today. I had two or three good chances to close out the match and didn’t do it, so credit to Wu.
“Even though I’m devastated to lose that match, I think the right person is in the final.
“All credit to Wu, if he doesn’t win this one, he’s going to win many world titles.”
Allen squandered a black to book his spot in the finals Credit: Reuters
Fans were delighted by the classy comments, taking to social media to voice their support for the World No14.
One supporter wrote: “Wow take a bow for this gracious, classy post-match interview after such a dramatic, heartbreaking loss to Wu Yize.”
Another gushed: “Fair play to Mark Allen for fronting up for an interview straight after that.
“Not many sportsmen would and you couldn’t blame them either.”
And a third impressed fan added: “Absolutely gut-wrenching miss from Mark Allen but my goodness, how classy was he in defeat there.
“To compose himself and speak so eloquently and heap praise on his opponent like that just seconds after coming out of the arena, incredibly graceful.”
Wu progressed to the final where he faces English potter Shaun Murphy, and his
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
