Snooker:Mark Allen was inspired by his four-year-old daughter's presence in the front row as he staged a stunning comeback to knock Matthew Stevens out of the World Snooker Championship tonight.
The Co Antrim potter was 9-6 behind but won four frames in a row to triumph 10-9 in the first-round tussle, before embracing daughter Lauren.
Allen said: “It’s the biggest win of my career. To win a final frame here at the Crucible against a player of Matthew’s quality in front of a packed house with my little girl watching in the front row, it doesn’t get much better than that.
“You think to yourself that you don’t want to let her down, even though she’ll probably not remember it when she grows up. It’s great to have her there, full stop, whether I win or lose. I haven’t got to see her that much over the last few years. That’s definitely what’s important to me.”
Allen, who is receiving help for depression, roared his satisfaction at the end.
“I think it scared her when I shouted,” Allen said, before predicting his daughter would want a present tomorrow. “You know what your priorities are when you see your child in the front row.”
Because of his off-table problems, 25-year-old Allen came to Sheffield with no expectations and admitted that at times during this evening’s concluding session he wanted nothing to do with the match.
“I was so close to smashing the pack open off my break at 9-6. I had to talk myself out of it on my backswing,” he said. “From somewhere I found a 100 break in that frame and that seemed to spur me on, that I could get back into it.
“I don’t know where I got it from but I’ve always been a bit of a fighter and that just proved it, considering all the crap I’ve had to deal with off the table at the minute. I didn’t really want to be there from 6-4 down, I just wanted to walk out but I’m not Ronnie.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan famously quit his UK Championship quarter-final match against Stephen Hendry in 2006 when he was 4-1 behind in a first-to-nine contest.
“I just tried to dig deep and pulled the result out,” Allen said. “The last few months have been hard on and off the table. My private life hasn’t been great but I’m fighting to get that better. I know when I get that better my snooker will improve.”
Allen will take on Barry Hawkins in the second round, starting on Friday.