English Open: Mark Allen hits four consecutive centuries to beat Mostafa Dorgham in opener
- Published
Mark Allen won four consecutive frames with centuries for the second time in his professional career
Mark Allen reeled off four consecutive centuries to defeat Mostafa Dorgham 4-0 in the first round of the English Open in Brentwood on Monday.
The Northern Irishman joins Neil Robertson as the only players to win a best-of-seven-frame match with four successive tons.
Allen put together breaks of 104, 127, 114 and 104 to win in just 51 minutes.
It is the second time the 37-year-old has made four runs of 100 or more in a match.
The previous occasion was in a 5-0 success over Ken Doherty at the European Masters in September 2020, when the Antrim man compiled four centuries in the first four frames.
Allen is one of an elite group of players have achieved the feat, including John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Robertson, Gary Wilson, Stephen Maguire and Lu Ning.
Australian 2010 world champion Robertson won a best-of-seven match with four centuries in a row at the 2013 Ruhr Open.
Before competing in Brentwood, Allen had lost 4-0 to Kyren Wilson in the second round of the British Open in Cheltenham.
The world number three will face Wu Yize in the second round on Tuesday afternoon.
'Couldn't have been lower in confidence'
"I couldn't have been any lower in confidence before I went out to play, I was hitting it sideways on the practice table," Allen, who won three ranking titles last season, told World Snooker, external.
"[Coach] Chris Henry was standing next to me and we were actually laughing about how far I was missing the balls by.
"It just shows the importance of going out with the right mindset, because I didn't let that practice session get to me. My performance was pretty flawless.
"I have been low on confidence but I know I can still play the game. It has been a while since I won a tournament - I haven't had that winning feeling since that World Grand Prix in January.
"I am getting found out when I come up against someone who plays very well. I had a good chat with my mental coach Paul Gaffney this morning which really helped - it freed me up."