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Summary
Rejoice! A new breed of snooker player has been born. This young, fearless, aggressive creature pumps his fist, sinks balls at lightning speed - and he wins.
By Mark Ashenden
Rejoice! A new breed of snooker player has been born. This young, fearless, aggressive creature pumps his fist, sinks balls at lightning speed - and he wins.
Stephen Hendry did his bit for the old boys' brigade with a maximum 147 before bowing out to Shaun Murphy, and John Higgins is still hanging in there after surviving two last-frame deciders.
But as the World Championship reaches the business end, there is no doubt this year's headlines have been dominated by a new generation.
Steve Davis has been playing at the Crucible for 30 years and believes that youthful confidence allied with great skill is leading to a changing balance of player power.
"We now see players needing to be more aggressive because they don't get so many chances, but when they take them, they generally win the frame," the 51-year-old said.
When reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, who burst on to the world championship stage in 1993 as a 17-year-old, brushed aside Stuart Bingham in the opening round, snooker's continuing status quo seemed assured.
Just seven days later, the world number one was packing his bags and as his conqueror Mark Allen strode out of the arena after his 13-11 win, you sensed a whole new order was unfolding.
It was a staggering performance from the 23-year-old cueman from Antrim, Northern Ireland, in only his third Crucible appearance and an upset he even had the audacity to predict before the match.
He seemed immune to the fear of failure with his long pots. And for every vintage break O'Sullivan knocked in, Allen looked intent on going one better, by potting faster and harder. The referee could barely keep up.
Trailing 9-7, Allen went on to blow his hero away in the final session, sealing victory with a century in the last. It was the manner of the win and his comments afterwards that were most striking.
Allen described beating one of his "heroes" as a dream, but he also remained confident enough to voice his unhappiness with O'Sullivan's comments made in January that snooker was "boring" and "dying".
"I take what Ronnie says with a pinch of salt," Allen said. "There are more than enough players to take the mantle. I don't think the game has ever been in better health player-wise.
"In any sport there should never be one player who runs the sport, and over the last few years it does seem that Ronnie has been doing that. He seems to get away with things other players wouldn't."
And the fairytale rumbles on. Having seen off an equally talented young star, Welshman Ryan Day, in the quarters on Wednesday, Allen admitted to feeling "flat" after slaying O'Sullivan, but added: "I'm here to win the tournament so I can't get too excited".
Only Higgins stands in the way of a remarkable final spot for Allen.
Read in full at the BBC
Author Profile
David Weller
Reporting from:
Lancashire, United Kingdom
Total Points: 3000
