Allen savours crack at OSullivan

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen believes he has the game to upset top seed Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield.

Antrim ace Allen reached the last 16 for the second time with a 10-6 win over Martin Gould on Monday.

He now takes on champion O'Sullivan in a best-of-25-frames match which starts on Thursday evening.

"There are players worse than me who have beaten Ronnie in the past," said 23-year-old Allen.

"I have not played Ronnie before so he has not beaten me, has he?

"If I go out there and perform, I am capable of beating anyone, Ronnie included.

"I am going into the match thinking that, if I play well, I expect to win.

"A lot of people play Ronnie and they do not think they are capable of winning.

"I know that I am capable of winning, it is just a matter of going out there and proving it on the day.

"Ronnie is favourite for many reasons. He is a justified big favourite in the match but favourites do not always win."

Allen resisted a comeback from Gould on Monday morning, when the Englishman clawed his way up from 7-2 behind to 7-5 thanks to rapid-fire breaks of 87, 90 and 74.

Read in full at the BBC