Mark Allen v Mark Williams live stream | Tour Championship Semi-Final preview
Allen and Williams go head to head for a place in the final (Imaginechina via AP Images)
Mark Allen and Mark Williams go head to head on Saturday for the right to play Ronnie O’Sullivan in this year’s Tour Championship final.
A mouth-watering semi-final showdown sees the two left-handed Marks do battle over the best of 19 frames at Manchester Central.
Both players are seeking further success in ITV-televised events this season; Allen triumphing at the Champion of Champions and Players Championship, with Williams lifting the British Open.
While we can expect a tight and closely fought match, the head-to-head record swings the contest heavily in favour of the Pistol.
Indeed, he has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the players – excluding the Championship League and Shoot Out – most recently a 6-3 success in the opening round of the Players Championship.
Allen’s subsequent triumph in Telford means he has now gone on to win the respective tournament following each of his last three victories over Williams.
Although, Williams will not be too worried by that statistic. After all, he had lost eight of his nine previous showdowns with Judd Trump prior to a commanding 10-4 victory in the quarter-finals.
Both players have demonstrated their trademark qualities to reach the last four of the elite 12-player tournament.
Gearing up for his sixth semi-final of the season, Allen has been the best scorer of the week with six centuries – including the high break of 142 in his 10-8 win over Ding Junhui, who he had trailed 6-3 at one point.
The Pistol – also the winner of the Shoot Out this term – was also three frames adrift against John Higgins in the opening round at 4-1 behind, but battled back for a 10-7 victory.
The world number three, who was Tour Championship runner-up to Stephen Maguire four years ago, is now aiming to become the third player to win all three events in the Player Series after Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson.
By contrast, Williams has only one ton to his name thus far. Although, his most important break was arguably one of the greatest clearances of all time against Tom Ford in round one, with that 66 break snatching a dramatic 10-9 win on the final black.
The three-time World champion then showed his mettle when it mattered most against Trump, snatching four frames on the pink and black to reach his third ranking semi-final of the season – and 65th overall.
The match will be contested over the best of 19 frames at Manchester Central, with O’Sullivan awaiting the winner in this year’s Tour Championship final.
Play gets under way at 1pm BST on Saturday with the opening eight frames, before playing to a conclusion from 7pm.
How to watch Mark Allen v Mark Williams live stream
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