Mark Allen Supports Hearn Against "Diabolical" Slow Play



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Mark Allen backed Barry Hearn's proposal to put a slow hold on the game after qualifying for the second round of the UK championships in York.

Allen, aged 32, was certainly not outdone while he beat two centuries earlier to win a 6-2 victory over Egyptian Basem Eltahhan.

But World Snooker president Hearn described the slow game in Rod Lawler's first-round match with Anthony Hamilton – in which only six of the nine frames could be played in the session they were badigned – as "evil" .

And while Allen expressed his sympathy for the future winner Lawler, whose strike time was close to 40 seconds, he insisted that the other players be punishable by the penalty for slow play "deliberate".

Allen said, "I felt really good for both players, receiving only six frames and Barry slaughtering them on Twitter.

"Rod is probably the only player who always plays this way, so I do not think it would be fair if he was punished for it.

"With the other players, I think it's the game and I think it should be eliminated.You have too many players at the bottom of the rankings who do it deliberately – but they do not win tournaments, so who cares really. "

Allen dropped his disappointing early exit at the Northern Ireland Open last week and hinted at the form that had brought him to the international championship last month.

And Allen is confident that he is starting to create the kind of momentum that has brought him to his only British final in 2011.

"I feel like one of the contenders this year," added Allen. "I have probably been here in recent years and I have not been a name on people 's lips, but I have the impression that my recent performance has changed that.

Former champion Shaun Murphy suffered a 6-3 loss to No. 124 Chinese, Chen Feilong.

Murphy, who won the tournament in 2008 and was a finalist in 2012 and 2017, lost a 3-1 lead in the game as his bad start to the season continued.

Murphy said, "I did not see it coming because I trained so hard, and my preparations for this event were fantastic.

"I've had a terrific season so far, but that has allowed me a lot of time to train and I feel that my game is in such good shape, but I do not know what to do." always wait for this to happen. "

Another former winner, Jimmy White, saw his hopes of success in the tournament ending with a 6-3 loss to Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

White, 56, now ranked 77th in the world, had an encouraging performance against Un-Nooh, scoring three points out of 50, including a 97 to temporarily threaten a comeback before his opponent finishes his job.

The world number 12, Ryan Day, was another surprise loser, while he was down 6-2 ahead of the world number 121, Joe O 'Connor, while the former champion of the world, Stuart Bingham, had swept 6-0 James Wattana.

Three-time UK champion, John Higgins suffered a terrible scare before heading to the second round with a 6 to 5 victory over Dechawat Poomjaeng.

Higgins was struggling desperately while the Thai, who had left the main tour last year, was coming back to 5-3 to force a decision maker.

But at half-past midnight, Higgins took his second chance after a missed yellow to accumulate a 60-minute break and win an unconvincing victory.

Higgins said: "It's the way I've played all year, I'm not surprised at how I played and I'm really lucky to succeed."

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