How Big Will Mark Allen Be?

Right after The Masters 2018 Final, everyone has been wondering how far 26 years-old Kyren Wilson will come. He had an awesome run in the Masters, and has evolved from just another low ranked player to a main field star in a short space of two years.

But in fact, his first Triple Crown event Final turned out to be a 10-7 defeat to Mark Allen. There's nothing wrong with that, by the way it's a fantastic experience at such a young age that will set him in good shape for the future.

However, Mark Allen has - six years after his first Final - finally won a Triple Crown event. How many more can he win now?
At 31, I think he's won it just at the right time. With the top players keeping fit and winning big into their 40s these days, it's become very difficult to breakthrough at a young age, and I think it's not until you're 30 that you're experienced enough to face the big guys and start winning big. Mark Selby and Ding Junhui are the big examples of that nowadays.

That said, I think everything you achieve in your 20s these days is double special, and will only aggregate both in numbers and experience to what you'll do when you're at your peak.

Going back to Allen, everyone was impressed when he came into the scene: he'd become a top 16 player just three years after turning professional, and then he reached the World Championship semifinals in 2009 beating then defending Champion Ronnie O`Sullivan along the way.

In 2011 when he lost to Trump in the UK Championship final everybody thought he would finally establish himself among the big starts, but in fact six years later he hadn't been back to a Triple Crown final again.

Nevertheless, he was taking small steps, normal to his age. The biggest step of all was probably the Players Championship he won in Manchester in 2016, his first Ranking Event win in the UK, live on free television.

He also had other wins - including the prestigious Paul Hunter Classic in Germany -, and even a 147 in the 2016 UK Championship. But maybe because he stormed into the scene too early or because it had been so long that Northern Ireland hadn't had a big star in Snooker, people wanted more from him. Or maybe because he's never thought much before saying things, and earned a popularity that's more common to players who've won bigger.

Whatever may be, Allen has now finally delivered and conquered the second biggest Snooker tournament in the World. Where is it gonna take him? Well, at 31 he could win a lot more, but only time will tell. I do not think he'll be a prolific Triple Crown event winner if I'm honest, to me there are too many players above him of around the same age, but he's definitely thrown his name in the mix now and will certainly be more respected. Besides, he's flashy, he says what he wants and people like him for that. A new star has been born in Ally Pally this year - and who's to say it's not fair to say it, haven't he beaten both Ronnie O`Sullivan and John Higgins on his way?

Meanwhile, the best part of the Snooker season keeps going. The hype for the World Championship at the Crucible is getting bigger and bigger, with tournaments such as the Welsh Open on their way just before. Like Ronnie O`Sullivan Brasil on Facebook to be tuned in with everything.