Mark Allen lifted the UK Championship trophy for the first time on Sunday night, bringing to an end a memorable event which began in front of a handful of hardcore fans in Sheffield and ended with a packed crowd in York.
After a widely-perceived decline in prominence, the UK Championship was revamped this year, with a return to the tiered qualifying system, which saw the top 16 head straight to York.
As a result, we got the low-key drama of the qualifiers at Ponds Forge, before the glamour of the two-table set-up at the Barbican from the last 32 onwards.
We saw shocks, superb quality and standout scenes across both venues, and as with any good show, it left the audience wondering what is to come next…
Did the changes work?
Yes. In a word. The move to the World Championship-style qualifying system gave us a string of stories and moments of drama that we almost get two tournaments for the price of one.
Jimmy White’s amazing run through four games to reach York was incredible at 60 years old, while the likes of Andres Petrov took his chance to grab some headlines and there were superb matches – Liam Highfield’s comeback win over Ali Carter standing out in the memory.
The return of qualifying meant more glitz, glamour, prestige and gravitas for the main stages, with two tables rather than four in the main arena and death to the place kindly referred to as ‘room two’ but less generously labelled the toilets, the car park or the shed.
The walk-ons were special – notably the Whirlwind’s – the venue looked at its best throughout and the atmosphere was great. Not every session was sold out, but tickets had obviously gone well and the Barbican cemented its place as the ideal home for the tournament.
There are dissenting voices over the qualifying structure. Shaun Murphy has been vocal against the tiered system, while Dave Gilbert spoke at length about his dislike for only having it in two events over the season, thereby skewing the rankings.
However, in terms of returning the UK Championship to one of the very best spectacles on the calendar, the changes did everything asked of them.
As did the improvements to the Cue Zone at the Barbican, with fans treated to demonstrations and Q&As from players before and in between sessions, encouraging the crowd to get there earlier and to hang around after, with a far more appealing atmosphere at the venue than many events.
Has Mark Allen joined the elite?
Mark Allen has now pocketed two thirds of the Triple Crown, with the World Championship the missing piece of the jigsaw – although admittedly by far the biggest and most difficult part of that puzzle.
With the Northern Ireland Open already retained this season he has now won eight ranking titles, which puts him one behind John Parrott, Peter Ebdon and Shaun Murphy on that particular list.
The Pistol has long been a contender for everything he enters, but rarely been an obvious pick to get his hands on a trophy. Never a surprise to see him in a final, but also no great shock to see him depart early.
With his weight loss, work on the mental side of the game, improving situation off the table and obvious good form, can he now break into that small, elite bracket who are at the business end of events on a regular basis?
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