Bet of the day: Allen beats Hawkins and makes highest break

Lee Gormley | January 14, 2016

Coral’s bet of the day

• Mark Allen won pair’s most recent meeting last year
• Northern Irishman holds dominant record over Barry Hawkins
• Allen knocked out reigning champion Shaun Murphy

Allen 15/8 for win and highest break

After downing defending Masters champion Shaun Murphy in his opener, Northern Ireland potter Mark Allen features as Coral’s bet of the day at 15/8 to topple Barry Hawkins in the quarter-final and make the match highest break.

The Antrim cueist showed his true talents on the baize in that impressive triumph over the Magician and will be confident of overcoming the Hawk now, having rallied to a rampant record over his next opponent previously.

Allen has emphatically prevailed in nine of the potting pair’s 13 ever competitive meetings, while Hawkins has only managed three wins. The Pistol also secured victory in their most recent match-up at the Champion of Champions last year, dropping just two frames in that clash in Coventry.

Pistol aiming for ranking success

Following his gallant victory over Murphy in the opening encounter of this year’s prestigious tournament, Allen is highly confident he can finally clinch a major ranking event and join compatriots Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor in doing so.