Mark Allen has been one of the best players on the planet for the last 15 years, but he insists his career has been ‘very disappointing’ as it hasn’t included a World Championship title.
The Pistol has racked up 12 ranking titles, including the UK Championship, won the Masters and the Champion of Champions twice.
Few in the history of the game have been more successful than the Northern Irishman, with only 10 players boasting more ranking event success.
However, his Crucible record has been poor, given the success he has enjoyed across the rest of the professional tour.
Allen has played at the Crucible for 19 years on the spin and he has not only failed to lift the trophy, but also not made it to the World Championship final.
The semi-finals in 2009 and 2023 are his only two trips to the one-table set-up, but at 40 years old, he still has plenty of time to improve on that.
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Allen knows that he has achieved a lot in his career, but says that unless he wins the World Championship before he retires, it will end as a disappointment.
‘I think in the grand scheme of things I’ve probably still had a decent career,’ said the world number 14.
‘There’s probably only 10 players that have won more than me, but I’d still say it’s very disappointing.
‘With all great respect to the tournaments I’ve won – you want to be world champion.
‘That’s what you start playing the game for. As a 12-year-old boy starting out I wanted to be world champion – you remember potting that long black to win the World Championship.
‘That fire in my belly is still there. So I’d look back on it as a disappointment, but I’m sure that other people might say I did alright.’
Allen is looking to replicate what his next opponent, Kyren Wilson, did in 2024 when he conquered the Crucible.
The two men meet in a heavyweight second round clash which is tough to call after the Northern Irishman beat Zhang Anda in his opener and the Englishman downed Stan Moody.
The Warrior has the Crucible pedigree that Allen cannot boast, but has been open about struggles with his equipment, which were hampering him against Moody.
‘I absolutely hate my cue,’ Wilson said. ‘It’s too flexible at the top, I’ve got no control, I’ve got no feel in my hand.
‘I’m just fighting all the time. I’m just trying to dig it out with this one. It’s torture, but I’m trying.’
The round of 16 meeting between Wilson and Allen is played over three sessions, on Thursday evening, Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.