Mark Allen reflected on a satisfying start to the Northern Ireland Open as he put a family illness in the background to open his bid to reclaim his home title in impressive fashion.
The Antrim cueman quashed doubts over his participation by swiftly brushing aside Liu Hongyu 4-0 at Waterfront Hall on Monday to advance into the last-32 of the competition.
Impressive breaks of 71, 76 and 70 accounted for his Chinese opponent in less than 90 minutes and means Allen remains on course for the lucrative £100,000 first prize.
He faces England’s Oliver Lines in his next test in the World Snooker Tour-organised tournament on Wednesday after Lines despatched China’s Wu Yize 4-1 on Tuesday and, with Allen aiming to wrestle the crown off 2023 champion Judd Trump to make it a hat-trick of titles to add to his victories in 2021 and 2022, feels in confident mood after that convincing win over Hongyu.
“I played pretty solid, I only missed two balls,” the world No.3 said. “It was a good performance, they were the only mistakes I made.
“I’ve obviously got things happening in the background, but I went out with a whimper last season, so it was good to perform in front of a big crowd.”