Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen clinched his first title of the season by defeating Judd Trump 10-3 in the Champion of Champions final in Bolton.
Allen, 37, led 7-2 after the afternoon session, and while Trump’s 77 break cut the margin, runs of 57 and 62 helped the Antrim player clinch victory.
Trump has been the dominant player on the circuit so far this season but was outplayed by Allen in Sunday’s final.
“I’ve been working so hard to get my game back,” Allen told ITV Sport.
The Antrim man’s three ranking tournament triumphs last season included coming from 6-1 down to beat Ding Junhui 10-7 in the UK Championship final.
The world number four had struggled so far this season but was back to his brilliant best here as a break of 63 meant he pinched frame four to move 3-1 up, before runs of 137 and 65 helped extend his advantage to 7-1.
Allen dedicated his victory to coach Joe Shortt, who died earlier this year, saying he had been a “bit lost” following the death of his great friend.
“Joe Shortt’s not here anymore. He was a big part of my life, not just on the table but off it, and me and my dad have lost one of our closest friends – so that was for Joe.”
Allen won the Champion of Champions event in 2020, while Englishman Trump clinched the title the following year and was beaten 10-6 by Ronnie O’Sullivan in the decider 12 months ago despite hitting a 147 break.
Trump, 34, has won four titles this year, including successive ranking tournament triumphs at the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open.
