Former world number one Mark Allen produced a dramatic turnaround to defeat Zhang Anda 10-6 and secure his place in the second round of the 2026 World Snooker Championship.
Making his 20th consecutive appearance at the Crucible, Allen extended his impressive first-round record, winning his opener for the sixth year in a row.
Despite never reaching a final in Sheffield, the Northern Irishman will be aiming to go deeper than ever this year.
Allen found himself 5-3 down after a difficult opening session on Saturday morning, and by his own admission, he was fortunate not to be further behind.
Zhang, who had lost in the first round on all five of his previous Crucible appearances, looked sharp early on. He compiled breaks of 129 and 109, alongside contributions of 75, 58 and 72, while Allen failed to register a single half-century in the session.
The match began to turn after a lengthy opening frame in the second session on Sunday morning.
Allen rediscovered his rhythm and produced back-to-back centuries of 140 and 109 to level the contest at 6-6, having trailed 6-4.
From there, the momentum was firmly with Allen. What had been a tense, scrappy affair quickly became one-sided, as he stormed through the final four frames. A further century break of 129 and a composed 81 sealed an emphatic 10-6 victory.
Magnificent from Mark Allen! 🍿
— WST (@WeAreWST) April 19, 2026
Enjoy ever shot as the Pistol hit top gear with a flowing 140 break...#WorldChampionship pic.twitter.com/V6HcIEpXnh
Allen opens up on ‘embarrassing’ first session
Following the match, Allen candidly reflected on the stark contrast between his performances across the two sessions.
“It was very different than yesterday; I'll tell you that. That was like chalk and cheese, wasn't it? It was actually embarrassing yesterday. Very, very frustrating,” Allen said post-match.
“I genuinely just wanted to crawl into a ball and cry last night. That’s how bad I felt.”
Allen admitted the struggles were entirely self-inflicted, revealing the mental toll his performance had taken.
“Zhang didn't do any of that to me. I did it to myself. I feel a constant battle with myself at the minute.”
“No one can make me feel as bad as I can make myself feel, trust me.”
A boozy change of routine pays off
In a bid to reset, Allen abandoned his usual preparation and opted to unwind after the opening session, even enjoying a few drinks while watching Manchester United defeat Chelsea.
“I was completely gutted with my performance yesterday. And I just prepared a little differently for this morning. I went out and had some drinks with my mates, probably a few too many drinks and then just sat and watched the football.”
“I probably came in with a little bit less expectation today, but whenever you're out there in the heat of battle, you realise just how much you want it again and that fire and my belly was back.”
The most disappointing aspect for Allen was that his slow start came despite a significant lifestyle overhaul in the build-up to the tournament.
“I’m not advocating for preparing for a world championship match like I did yesterday, but something needed to change.”
“For the past month I’ve been so disciplined, I've been practising hard. I’ve been in the gym, working with a PT, doing like three sessions a week. I feel physically stronger, fitter, eating better, having protein shakes, every vitamin tablet under the sun to try and make myself feel better.”
“That’s why I was so gutted yesterday, because I felt like what more do I need to do to prepare properly for this tournament.”
Elsewhere, Barry Hawkins completed a routine 10-4 victory over former Crucible runner-up Matthew Stevens.
- Mark Allen was speaking to SportsBoom.com
