UK Snooker Championship: Judd Trump beats Mark Allen to win title

Trump was 3-1 down at one stage before winning seven frames in a row

Rising star Judd Trump beat Northern Ireland's Mark Allen 10-8 to clinch his first UK Championship title in York.

The Englishman won the opening frame but Allen rattled off three in a row including a stunning break of 141.

Trump, 22, responded with runs of 52, 62, 75 and 61 to move 5-3 up and breaks of 109, 78 and 74 on the resumption made it seven consecutive frames.

From 8-3 down Allen won five of the next six, including three more tons, but Trump sealed it with a break of 91.

"It's a brilliant feeling and it's been a brilliant week," Trump, who rises two places to number five in the world rankings, told BBC Sport.

Trump, who won his first ranking title at the China Open earlier this year, confirmed his status as the spearhead of the younger generation by claiming the sport's second biggest title, six months after running John Higgins close in the Crucible final.

Having played best-of-11 and best-of-17 matches in the tournament, the players battled it out in a best-of-19-frames final at the Barbican Centre for the £100,000 prize.

Allen began nervously and left an easy starter for Trump, who took the opening frame with a break of 70.

Trump, who reached the world final in May, missed a long red to let Allen back into the match, and he replied with a run of 58.

Trump's attacking style of play let him down in the third when he chose a difficult pot over an easy safety shot, resulting in Allen winning his second consecutive frame with an impressive break of 141.

Allen took a two-frame lead into the mid-session break with a run of 69 in the fourth, when both players had chances to win it.

In the interval, Trump wrote on his Twitter page: "Done well to lose 3-1 there, not quite sure how he managed to get the brown safe every time though. Changing into my naughty head for next four frames."

His "naughty" snooker style came back in the fifth to help him close the gap to just one frame with a 52 break, before taking a scrappy sixth with a run of 62 to level the match at 3-3.

After criticising his safety shots after his semi-final, Allen once again struggled in the seventh and some great positioning from Trump enabled him to take the lead for the first time since winning the opening frame.

Trump secured a two-frame lead ahead of the evening session with a break of 61 to lead 5-3.

The world finalist, who beat Dominic Dale, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Maguire and Neil Robertson on his way to the final, continued where he had left off after the break and comfortably took a three-frame lead with a break of 109.

Allen tried a risky long pot over an easy safety shot in the 10th when it had looked like the frame was won, and the mistake cost him as Trump forged further ahead with a run of 78, before taking what seemed to be an unassailable lead with a break of 74 to go 8-3 clear.

The Northern Irishman, who openly criticised snooker chief Barry Hearn during the tournament, hit back before the mid-session interval with a fantastic 139, the second highest break of the match.

Allen continued his comeback with a run of 129, before Trump once again took hold of the match, winning the battle of the safety shots in the 14th frame to take a 9-5 lead.

The 2010 semi-finalist Allen, who made the four highest breaks in the match, refused to give up and once again potted well in a run of 125 to close the deficit to three frames.

A poor mistake by Trump in the 16th left a red over the top pocket and Allen looked sure to capitalise until an advantageous pot went awry.

In a nervous battle the 2011 China Open winner looked to be on his way to victory before he missed what seemed an easy red. That one mistake led the Northern Irishman to win another frame to keep his hopes alive at 9-7.

A superb double in the 17th gave Trump the advantage but it was not enough as Allen came back once again to win his third consecutive frame with a break of 95 to take it to 9-8.

But in the next Allen played a deep screw on a long red and missed. It was a mistake he was to pay for dearly, with Trump going on a run of 91 to take the match.

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