‘We’re all in trouble’, says furious Mark Allen as snooker star hits out at BBC snub amid favouritism fears
MARK ALLEN has hit out at the BBC for its lack of coverage of the World Snooker Championship.
The superstar booked his place in the second round with a smooth win over Robbie Williams.
But neither snooker session was selected for TV by the BBC.
And Allen has now criticised decision-makers for only chasing the sport’s biggest names, regardless of their ability.
The row comes after David Gilbert slammed snooker chiefs for failing to promote Luca Brecel — who is the current world champ and world No1.
Allen said: “I’m not going to name names, but I had a chat with someone in and around the WST and that media circle.
“They said that Luca [Brecel] wasn’t a big enough name to give coverage to and he’s the world champion.
“So, if that’s the person we’re dealing with, we’re all in trouble.
“I’d rather play on TV. That’s what we play for. That’s why we try and win and get up the rankings for, but it doesn’t seem to account for much.
“I’ve been down this road before, things are slightly better, but it could be better still. If the face doesn’t fit, then maybe something else needs to change.”
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Reflecting on his win over Williams, Allen continued: “I always felt I had another few gears to up [in the first session] and felt I was always in control.
“It was very scrappy today. I didn’t quite feel in control but I was happy with how I finished. There’s a lot of room for improvement after that. At 9-4 I felt I’d done the work but I just felt a bit flat.
“Then whenever he made a couple of breaks to make it 9-6 I switched back on and was really up for that last frame so it was a good break in the end.”
On his own ambitions for the tournament, Allen added: “There’s not many upsets these days as the standard is so high. None of that would put pressure on me.
“The only pressure that’s on me is from myself and that’s always been the case. I don’t care what other people think.
“I want to be world champion and I want to be world No1. But I can’t think of that when I’m out there. I just have to think about the shot ahead and that’s what I’ve been doing pretty well lately.
“I just need to continue to do that and the rest will take care of itself.”