Mark Allen has criticized the "embarrassing" playing conditions at the British Open in Cheltenham, stating that the table he won his first-round match on "needs to be burned". Allen, who was the world No 1 from May to August this year, defeated Gary Wilson 4-3 on table two at the Centaur, a venue located at Cheltenham racecourse. Following his victory, he claimed that doors were left open at the venue, resulting in a "cold and humid" playing environment and making the table "unplayable".
"The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing," the Northern Irish player told ITV. "It’s some of the worst weather outside, and they’ve left the massive transport doors open. It’s so cold, it’s so humid out there." Allen, now ranked world No 3, led Wilson 2-0 and 3-2 before securing his win in a final-frame decider. "There’s new guys doing the tables this year, and they’re clearly not up to it," Allen added. "The cushions are unplayable, uncontrollable. It was heavy … the table needs to be burned."
This is not the first time top snooker players have complained about the facilities at ranking events. In January, Ronnie O’Sullivan criticized London’s Alexandra Palace, the regular home of the Masters tournament, calling it "disgusting" and stating that it made him feel ill. During April’s world championships, Iranian player Hossein Vafaei criticized the playing conditions at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, saying it smelled bad and the practice room felt like a garage.
Allen, who was runner-up to Ryan Day at the British Open in 2022, does not expect his complaints to lead to change. "I complain every single tournament, fill in table report sheets, match report sheets, and nothing ever changes," he said. "I pride myself on preparing properly for tournaments with good conditions, and you turn up and you don’t get them. It’s not good enough."
In response, the World Snooker Tour (WST) stated: "Our table-fitting team has been consistent for some time and works to the highest standards. The weather in the area has seen unprecedented rainfall over the last couple of days, which can negatively influence the conditions. We have raised the issue of an open door with the venue."
Elsewhere, Judd Trump recorded his 999th career century during a 4-1 win over Robert Milkins. Trump’s break of 104 in the opening frame leaves him one ton away from joining Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins as the only players to reach the milestone. The world No 1 had a chance to make the thousand mark in style in the fifth and final frame of the match but missed the 11th black on a break of 81. Higgins, who only accomplished the feat himself at last week’s English Open, eased past fellow Scot Ross Muir 4-1.
The defending British Open champion, Mark Williams, suffered a shock 4-1 defeat to Malaysia’s Rory Thor, while Ding Junhui and Ali Carter both fell in deciders to Hill and Hungary’s Bulcsu Revesz respectively. There were no such problems for the world champion Kyren Wilson, who scorched to a 4-0 win over Julien Leclercq. Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from his scheduled first-round match against Thailand’s Manasawin Phetmalaikul on Monday morning.
