UK Championship winner Mark Allen was left apologising to his opponent following a remarkable fluke shot in German Masters qualifying. Allen was in action for the first time since defeating Ding Junhui in Sunday's final.
And the Northern Irishman picked up from where he left off in York, after defeating his opponent Peter Lines in the event qualifier. His victory was not without a bit of luck though, after he played a fortuitous five-cushion escape in frame six.
Allen found himself penned in behind the yellow ball on the top cushion, with all the available red balls out of sight at the bottom of the table.
His attempt crashed off the top right pocket before making its way down to the bottom cushion and back up to the top of the table again, before just glancing a single red back down the other end of the table. Allen could not quite believe his luck.
As a result, the Northern Irishman put his hand to his head and offered an apology to Lines, before enjoying a chuckle back in his seat. The Northern Irish star was still no doubt on a high following Sunday's dramatic victory over Ding.
Beginning at 1pm, Allen's mammoth clash with his Chinese rival finally came to an end at 11:30pm later than evening, but the wait was no doubt worth it for the world No. 4. It was a performance for the ages from the Northern Irishman, who came back from 6-1 down in the match to win it 10-7.
In the aftermath of his victory, Allen was left perplexed by what he had just achieved. He told Eurosport: "I don’t really know how I’ve done it if I’m honest.
What did you make of Mark Allen's fluke? Let us know in the comments section below.
I didn’t play very well most of the week. I struggled at the start and Ding punished me heavily, scored ridiculously well in the first session. And I just hung on and hung on, and scraped the last frame.
"All I said to myself was, ‘can I win the next frame?’ And ultimately the answer is always yes. So, I was never getting ahead of myself and I was just waiting for that chance at the end.”
