Northern Ireland Open: Mark Allen fights back to beat John Higgins 9-8 in epic final

Mark Allen claimed his maiden Northern Ireland Open title after staging a remarkable comeback to beat John Higgins 9-8 in the Belfast final.

Allen, 35, twice led by two frames before Higgins battled back to level at 4-4 after the first session.

After sharing the next four frames, the four-time world champion took command by winning two in a row, which included a wonderful 136 break to lead 8-6.

Allen then surged back, winning the last three to seal an emotional win.

Allen, whose best previous performance in his home event was reaching the quarter-finals in 2016, capped a memorable week which included hitting a 147 in the first round before coming back from 3-0 down to stun three-time defending champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals.

It was the sixth ranking tournament title of a career that also includes triumphs in the two big invitational events, the 2018 Masters and Champion of Champions in 2020.

"I've tried to play it down all week but I know what this means to me," Allen told Eurosport after securing a win he described as a "dream come true".

"I know what it means to these people and to keep this trophy here in Northern Ireland is a special, special moment I'll never forget."

Allen stages stirring comeback

Tied after the opening eight frames, Allen reclaimed the lead in the opening frame of the evening session as a beautiful long red set up a break of 70, before Higgins immediately struck back with a controlled 63 in the 10th to once again level the contest.

In the 11th, Higgins' missed red opened the door for Allen to build an 85 break - his highest of the match - and edge ahead.

But the 46-year-old Higgins responded by pouncing on a mistake from the Northern Irishman to level at 6-6 at the mid-session interval.

Higgins then made a significant move by securing the next two, the latter of which came courtesy of a 136 clearance after Allen had failed to land on a red having been trapped behind the yellow.

That moved Higgins to within one of victory, but Allen refused to lie down and reduced the arrears to one before outlasting his opponent in a nerve-shredding 16th frame in which the tension was ramped up by referee Olivier Marteel carefully re-setting the balls after Allen had clipped the blue while attempting an escape.

In the deciding frame, Higgins led 27-0 but Allen held on before capitalising on a missed red from the Scot to set up his title-winning clearance and earn the Alex Higgins trophy.

"It's pretty disappointing but this game is all about making memories and I think Mark will have one of the best memories of his life," said a gracious Higgins in defeat.

The final was gripping from the start with Allen dominating the opening two frames as he produced runs of 30 and 44 in the opener before a clever plant set up a break of 82 in the next.

Higgins hit back with his break of 123, which looked like being a 141 before he missed the final blue, as he potted two terrific opening longs reds to help open his account.

Breaks of 25 and 37 saw Allen, 35, restore a two-frame advantage before the four-time world champion replied with a run of 68 to reduce the margin to the minimum again.

The match's fluency briefly deserted both players in frame six before Allen clinched it but Higgins once more cut the margin to one in the next by posting a break of 55.

Allen's 58 break left him needing only one more red to secure a two-frame advantage heading into the evening session but he lost position and following a prolonged safety battle, Higgins potted a tremendous red to begin a break which almost brought back memories of his namesake Alex Higgins' epic clearance against Jimmy White in the 1982 World Championship semi-final.

Higgins looked increasingly comfortable in the evening session in front of a vocal Waterfront Hall crowd as he pulled to within one of claiming his 32nd ranking title.

But Allen dug deep, survived several tense safety exchanges and steadied himself to clear the table in the final frame, producing the loudest roar of the week inside the Belfast arena after drilling home the decisive brown.