On April 18, 2022, Beijing time, the snooker World Championship entered the third day of the main tournament, and the 15th seed Mark Allen appeared against Scott Donaldson. The game was slow-paced and no one could pull the points gap, and Mark Allen slowly got into shape in the second half of the first half, shooting a two-shot breaker to take a 5-4 lead over Scott Donaldson, but the advantage was weak and the game was still in suspense.
Mark Allen, ranked 15th in the world, is also a first-class player on this stage, and although his results in the three major competitions are average, no one dares to ignore him. In the first round, his opponent was Scott Donaldson, who was ranked 49th in the world and was once a post-90s player with high hopes, and Chinese fans were very impressed with him because he beat Ding Junhui many times in a row and was known as Ding Junhui's nemesis.
In these two seasons, Scott Donaldson has been in a slump, slipping in the rankings and even facing relegation pressure. However, in the qualifying round of this World Championship, Scott Donaldson seized the opportunity to break into the main game, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.
Against Mark Allen, Scott Donaldson played well in the first half, shooting a single 50 and 78 points to take a 2-1 lead. Although Mark Allen scored a single 80 points in the first set, the first half was not ideal, and there were too many unnecessary mistakes. In the crucial fourth set, Scott Donaldson took a 60-0 lead and was about to take a 3-1 lead, but Mark Allen seized the opportunity to complete the extreme reversal 61-60.
Mark Allen showed his strength in a very passive fourth inning, and once he lost the set, it was not easy to play 1-3 behind. After the break, the two sides still did not give in to each other, and after winning one game each, the score came to 3 draws. Subsequently, Mark Allen finally played a smooth attack, with a single shot of 107 points to win the seventh set, and finally overtook the opponent. Scott Donaldson then responded with a 54-pointer, drawing four.
In the final inning of the first half, Mark Allen found another breakthrough, shooting a single 109 point and keeping a clean sheet for Scott Donaldson to end the first stage of the game with a 5-4 lead. Obviously, this is not the best Mark Allen, but even so, he still has a 5-4 lead. The two-stroke break also shows that Mark Allen is getting better and better, Scott Donaldson did not extend the lead in the first half, missed a good opportunity, and once Mark Allen found the best form, Scott Donaldson faced a exit.
However, 5-4 was a suspenseful score with both sides having chances. The second half will take place at 2am on April 19, which means that the match will end on this matchday, with the winner advancing to the round of 16 and the opponent in the second round being O'Sullivan!