On March 26, 2022, Beijing time, the first three rounds of the Snooker Gibraltar Open ended, and Mark Allen, who was ranked 11th in the world, once led 3-1, but then lost three consecutive sets, and was overturned by the 46-year-old Robert Milkins, who failed to qualify for the round of 16. This result is good for Chinese youngster Lu Haotian, and in the next round against Robert Mirkins, Lu Haotian's chances of winning are greatly increased.
On this match day, six seeded players appeared, and Trump and Bingham successfully broke through to advance to the round of 16. O'Sullivan suffered a round trip, with Higgins, Lissovsky and Mark Allen all out in the third round. Among them, Mark Allen held a 3-1 lead, but suffered a big reversal and missed a good opportunity.
Mark Allen also has another important goal for this competition, that is, to compete for the extra prize money of the European Series. On the list, Mark Allen and Higgins are on a par with each other, and the likelihood of getting extra prize money is very high. Higgins lost to Jimmy Robertson and missed the round of 16, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Mark Allen to win and lead alone, but Mark Allen was once again disappointing.
In the first round, Mark Allen shot a four-shot 70 to eliminate Mark Joyce 4-2. In the second round, Mark Allen scored a single shot of 72 and 104 points to eliminate Halworth 4-1. In the third round, Mark Allen opened with a single 69 and 105 points to give Robert Milkins a 3-1 lead at the end of the first four innings. I thought Mark Allen would be able to get through easily, but he didn't perform well afterwards, with Robert Milkins scoring 94 and 76 points to make it 4-3 and break the big upset.
It's hard to imagine a 46-year-old veteran reversing seeded player Mark Allen with a 1-3 deficit, who couldn't hide his disappointment. With Higgins and Mark Allen out, the competition for extra prize money in the European series intensified, and while the two were still in the lead, they lost the initiative. Neil Robertson, Trump, and Richie Wharton are all looking to finish in the final moments.
In addition, Mark Allen's exit is also good news for China's youngster Lu Haotian, who will compete with Lu Haotian for the quarter-finals if Mark Allen advances. In the past, Lu Haotian and Mark Allen had fought each other, and it was difficult to take advantage. Now, Lu Haotian's opponent has become Robert Mirkins, and the possibility of advancing to the quarterfinals has greatly increased.
I hope that young player Lu Haotian will seize the opportunity, after all, he is now on the verge of relegation and needs more victories to improve the ranking!