Mark Allen launched a scathing attack on the ’embarrassing’ commentary at the Snooker Shoot Out just hours after beating Cao Yupeng in the final. Allen become the first player inside the world’s top 16 to win the title when he overcame his Chinese opponent in Swansea over the weekend.
The format of the Shoot Out is a twist on snooker’s usual rules, with games being played over a single frame with a maximum length of 10 minutes and players facing a shot clock. Allen managed to win the tournament for the first time on Sunday but was left unimpressed by commentator Neil Foulds, who suggested that he was fortunate that his opponent kept leaving him chances.
Allen took to X, formerly Twitter, to clarify his thoughts just hours after lifting the trophy. He wrote: “Thought Neal Foulds commentary was embarrassing. There’s a big difference between being handed chances and creating them. By the way, I actually like @fouldsy147 but I thought he was wrong in comms last night.”
Allen became only the 12th player to win 10 ranking titles with his victory over Cao, which also landed him £50,000 in prize money. It also secured him a place at the upcoming World Grand Prix and boosted his chances of featuring at the Players Championship in February.
However, the Northern Irishman does not believe that his Shoot Out triumph is on the same level as his other achievements, saying: “I know it counts, but I’m not counting it mentally. I’m still on nine in my opinion. For me the five PTCs I won earlier on in my career were harder to win.
“I love the event and I love the opportunity it gives people lower down the tour with exposure on TV and a lot of juniors are involved, but I don’t believe it should carry ranking points. I’m the fortunate one that I’m going to reap the benefits of the Shoot Out, like others have in the past.
“I was well aware that I was in a position where I needed to either do something at the Shoot Out or in Scotland to get into the Grand Prix. There was a different agenda on my mind this week. Winning it is a massive bonus because it gets me up towards the top 16 on the one-year list for the Players Championship.
“You have to be realistic about where it stands in the grand scheme of things. I won’t be rating it near my Masters, UK or Northern Ireland wins. I love the event, I’ll carry on playing in it. I think more top players should support the event, but that’s [because it’s a ranking event] why they probably don’t.”
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