The quarter-final stage of this year's World Snooker Championship has produced another meeting between Mark Allen and Barry Hawkins. The two have crossed paths before, most notably at the 2024 UK Championship, when Allen was accused of sabotaging his own chances.
Allen saw off qualifier Zhang Anda in the first round at The Crucible this year before knocking out 2025 world champion Kyren Wilson with a 13-9 victory.
Hawkins secured his second-round win with the same score-line against three-time champion Mark Williams, having defeated two-time World Championship runner-up Matthew Stevens to get his campaign underway.
It has been just under 18 months since Allen and Hawkins last went head-to-head. Hawkins needed to come through qualifying in order to make the main draw, but beat top seed Ronnie O'Sullivan on his way to the semi-finals.
It was there that he encountered Allen, the fourth seed, with the Northern Irishman leading 4-2 and 5-4 but ultimately failing to close out the match. Snooker legend Steve Davis, working as part of the BBC's coverage, openly questioned whether Allen's slow play had led to his downfall.
Davis said: "It's tough sometimes playing this game and it does feel like both players are dragging each other down a bit. And it's just sometimes the balls go [Allen's] way. But question marks on whether Mark Allen [is] slightly sabotaging his own ability by playing a little bit slowly, and maybe Barry Hawkins [is] trying to get free and get a bit of rhythm going."
Hawkins emerged victorious, clinching a 6-5 win to secure his place in the final. However, he was no match for Judd Trump, with the third seed fending off a comeback to win 10-8.
Recalling his semi-final struggles, Allen admitted he was his own worst enemy. "I got what I deserved in the end," he said after losing out in York. "I didn't take advantage of the chances I had, and I had quite a few. It's agonising because I got so close, despite playing poorly. Losing any Triple Crown semi-final is always hard to take but I think I've turned the corner this week. It's disappointing now, but there are plenty of positives."
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