Mark Allen denies Cao Yupeng to claim maiden Shoot Out title
Allen became the first top-16 winner of this event
Mark Allen became the first top-16 champion in Shoot Out history on Saturday after beating Cao Yupeng 65-4 in the final.
The top seed was the last man standing after another dramatic day of action at the Swansea Arena, where he claimed his second silverware in as many months and landed the top prize of £50,000.
Allen, who also lifted the Champion of Champions last month, captured his 10th ranking title – moving level with Jimmy White – becoming the 12th player in history to reach double figures.
Having been runner-up to Martin Gould in 2013, the Pistol went one better a decade on as he became the 14th different winner in as many editions of the unique single-frame tournament
Allen had progressed to Finals day after a pair of commanding victories over Ben Woollaston and Oliver Brown.
However, he was forced to dig deep in rounds three and four, battling past Sanderson Lam 58-36 before seeing off Oliver Lines 19-10.
In the last eight, Allen enjoyed a more comfortable 52-18 victory over Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui, who had seen off Kyren Wilson in an epic blue-ball shootout in the previous round, while he swept amateur Steven Hallworth aside 60-8 to advance to his second Shoot Out final.
Standing in his way was Cao. The Chinese had beaten former champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, last season’s finalist Julien Leclercq and Ali Carter to reach his third ranking final.
But it was not to be third time lucky for Cao, who also fell at the final hurdle in the 2017 Scottish Open and 2018 Gibraltar Open. Indeed, Allen dominated the final in a typically determined manner to take the title.
Snooker Shoot Out 2023 | Day Four Results
Saturday, December 9
Last 32
David Lilley 1-101 Kyren Wilson
Michael White 75-6 Joe O’Connor
Alexander Ursenbacher 12-48 Steven Hallworth
Sanderson Lam 36-58 Mark Allen
Cao Yupeng 44-6 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Iulian Boiko 31-26 Anthony Hamilton
Ali Carter 58-21 Dean Young
Zhou Yuelong 23-66 Dominic Dale
Duane Jones 40-56 Long Zehuang
Elliot Slessor 65-42 Zak Surety
Liam Davies 40-33 Dylan Emery
Xu Si 9-20 Oliver Lines
Mark Davis 46-15 Liam Pullen
Graeme Dott 44-53 Jimmy Robertson
Ryan Day 0-112 Si Jiahui
Hammad Miah 61-34 Stan Moody
Last 16
Dominic Dale 63-46 Iulian Boiko
Kyren Wilson 48-53 Si Jiahui (blue-ball shootout)
Cao Yupeng 31-16 Hammad Miah
Oliver Lines 10-19 Mark Allen
Liam Davies 0-73 Mark Davis
Long Zehuang 33-52 Steven Hallworth
Elliot Slessor 50-36 Jimmy Robertson
Michael White 27-32 Ali Carter
Quarter-Finals
Cao Yupeng 39-13 Mark Davis
Mark Allen 52-18 Si Jiahui
Dominic Dale 19-52 Steven Hallworth
Ali Carter 41-24 Elliot Slessor
Semi-Finals
Cao Yupeng 41-18 Ali Carter
Steven Hallworth 8-60 Mark Allen
Final
Cao Yupeng 4-65 Mark Allen