On 17 October 2021, the Snooker Northern Ireland Open came to an end. Allen won three straight sets after falling behind 6-8 in the final, beating Higgins 9-8 and driving Belfast fans crazy with a luxurious combination of "playing 147+ to win the championship".
1. Final: M. Allen 9-8 J. Higgins
Stage 1: 78-21, 82(82)-1, 0-123 (123), 70-6, 11-68 (68), 70-47, 0-78 (55), 63(58)-64
Stage 2: 76(70)-47, 40-89(63), 86(85)-0, 40-89(59), 1-64(64), 6-144(136), 51-6, 80(58)-43, 65-31
After the final began, Higgins continued to heat up, giving Allen a 2-0 lead. Higgins scored a single 123 inning in the third inning, and the game was then advanced by the two at a frequency of "one man wins one set", and Allen took a 4-3 lead. In the 8th set, Higgins, trailing by a score of 16-63, scored a 48-point clearance of the most difficult single score, and completed the extreme single set reversal with a difference of 1 point, chasing it to a 4-4 draw.
In the second half, the game was still very sticky, with Allen leading 5-4, 6-5, and Higgins equalizing 5-5, 6-6. In the 13th inning, Higgins scored a difficult 64 points, and Allen then played another time, but immediately conceded a black ball, and Higgins took the lead for the first time 7-6. In the 14th inning, Higgins scored 136 points with 14 red balls to break the 100 and win the match point 8-6. After that, Allen withstood the pressure and won two consecutive sets through meticulous defense to reach an 8-8 draw. In the decider, Higgins chose to attack to the end, and Allen firmly grasped every time he went to the mobile meeting, winning the decider 65-31. In the end, Allen beat Higgins 9-8 to win the Northern Ireland Open on his doorstep.
2. The road to the final
3. The significance of winning the championship
Northern Ireland's number one star, Allen, has driven Snooker fans in Belfast crazy with a luxurious combination of "playing 147+ to win the championship" on his doorstep. Allen finished his sixth career ranking title, overtaking Lilton and Stephen Lee to tie with Dahdi, Bingham and Maguire. After this campaign, Allure will remain at 11th in the world rankings, and Higgins will rise to 6th.
4. Bonus & Grade Sheet
5. Break the 100 list
A total of 25 players scored a total of 29 to break the hundred during the qualifying period of this competition, and a total of 26 players played a total of 50 to break the 100 during the main competition. Higgins shot a 7-stroke breaker, making him the player with the most breakers. Allen blasted his second career score of 147 points, becoming the highest score in a single shot, earning a £5,000 bonus.
6. Past champions
In 2016, M. King 9-8 B. Hawkins
In 2017, M. Williams 9-8 Yan Bingtao
In 2018, J. Trump 9-7 R. O'Sullivan
In 2019, J. Trump 9-7 R. O'Sullivan
In 2020, J. Trump 9-7 R. O'Sullivan
In 2021, M. Allen 9-8 J. Higgins