Scott Donaldson caused the biggest upset at the UK Championship so far, securing an emotional 6-1 victory over Mark Allen while coping with the recent death of his father. The world number 52 reached the last 16 of snooker's second-biggest tournament for the first time in his career, grinding out a scrappy match that extended late into Monday evening.
Donaldson, 31, built a 3-0 lead before Allen, a former world number one, pulled a frame back. However, the Scot fought back to seal a win that sets up a clash against three-time UK champion Ding Junhui. Before the match, Donaldson was in tears walking into the arena to the song 'Babylon' by David Gray, one of his father's favourites played at his funeral.
Donaldson acknowledged that the circumstances have helped him put things into perspective. 'Snooker is a game at the end of the day, it's not life or death,' he said. 'With what I have been through, I can tell you what's important and what's not important. When the pressure is coming on, I just tell myself it's a game of snooker and get on with it.'
Donaldson had already shown remarkable resilience by coming from 5-0 down in his final qualifier against Stuart Bingham to win 6-5, after which he felt his father was giving him a helping hand. 'He loved watching me play,' Donaldson said. 'In my mind, he's still there watching me play. I just don't know where he is right now.'
World number seven Allen became the highest-ranked player to lose in York so far, and while he credited his opponent, he was frustrated by his own performance. 'It took a big character to continue playing and all credit to Scott with everything he has been through,' Allen said. 'I was completely outplayed and 6-1 was not a flattering score.'
