On October 24, 2022, Beijing time, the Snooker Northern Ireland Open staged the finale, with defending champion Mark Allen playing Zhou Yuelong in the final. China's Zhou Yuelong once led 4-1, but he went on to lose eight games in a row, losing the title in a particularly collapsed manner. Mark Allen successfully defended his title, winning his seventh career ranking tournament and qualifying for the Championship Invitational.
This season, Zhou Yuelong has shown good competitive form, his personal skills have become more and more comprehensive, and his mentality has become more and more mature, and after reaching the round of 16 at the European Masters, he has completely exploded at the Northern Ireland Open. Before the final, Zhou Yuelong defeated Shaun Murphy, Robert Milkins, David Gilbert, Anthony McGill and other famous players, Zhou Yuelong not only showed his offensive strength, but also defended well.
In the semifinals against Anthony McGill, Zhou Yuelong hit a four-shot over 100, which was quite strong. Although he did not directly express his desire for the championship, Zhou Yuelong's confidence increased after winning the semifinals, and he seemed to be comfortable in the interview. Moreover, the final opponent is Mark Allen, not Neil Robertson, who kept a clean sheet in the final. Reaching the final of the ranking tournament for the third time, Zhou Yuelong looks like he has a chance to compete with Chinese players such as Zhao Xintong and Fan Zhengyi and win the first ranking tournament title of his career.
In fact, after reaching the final, many celebrities compared Zhou Yuelong with Zhao Xintong, and compared to Zhao Xintong, Zhou Yuelong's defense looked better. If it can be kept steady, Zhou Yuelong not only has a chance to win the championship in this race, but even like Zhao Xintong, he can win two championships or even more in one season. Mark Allen bluntly said that Zhou Yuelong is the best Chinese player after Ding Junhui, but it is a pity that Zhou Yuelong failed to turn his wishes into reality.
He got off to a great start, scoring 56 and 135 to take a 4-1 lead after the first five innings. However, the sixth game became a turning point, and Zhou Yuelong had the opportunity to extend his lead, but he made a mistake. After that, Mark Allen gradually regained his feelings, controlled the pace of the game, and quickly chased to 4 draws. In the second stage, Mark Allen was completely released, and he successively shot a single shot of 53 points, 85 points, 50 points, 51 points, and 109 points, without giving Zhou Yuelong any chance. Zhou Yuelong lost eight consecutive games after leading 4-1, collapsed and lost the title.
Reaching the final of the ranking tournament for the third time and still missing the championship, Zhou Yuelong failed to compete with Zhao Xintong and Fan Zhengyi last season, and missed a good opportunity. However, throughout this competition, Zhou Yuelong's performance is already very good, and I hope he will not be discouraged and continue to attack the championship.
Mark Allen successfully defended his title, winning his seventh ranking tournament at home, and he also won £80,000 and qualified for the Champions Invitational. Reaching the final in two consecutive ranking competitions, winning a championship and a runner-up, Mark Allen, who lost weight successfully, improved his competitiveness, and the next performance is more worth looking forward to!