Mark Allen has had some very good results against Mark Williams (Picture: Getty Images)
Mark Allen is happy to play a little mind game with Mark Williams before their Tour Championship semi-final on Saturday, reminding the Welshman of their lopsided head-to-head record.
Allen beat Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals in Manchester, while Williams has downed Tom Ford and Judd Trump to reach the last four.
It is a fascinating contest between the Northern Irishman and the Welsh Potting Machine, with the winner taking on either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Gary Wilson in Sunday’s final.
The Pistol is clearly feeling good as he prepares to play Williams, remembering a lot of wins over him over the years, including in their only meeting this year, at the Players Championship.
Allen reckoned he has won nine of his last 10 matches against Williams, while CueTracker has it at eight of the last 10, but still very impressive, with 14 victories to the 48-year-old’s seven in all competitions.
‘A match I always look forward to, we’ve had some good battles over the years. I’m not sure we’ve ever played over a best of 19 so that’ll be an interesting one,’ Allen told ITV4 after beating Ding.
‘I’m going to plant a wee seed, I think I’ve won nine of the last 10 against Mark, so hopefully he’s aware of that. I’ll plant a wee seed on the practice table as well before we start on Saturday.’
Mark Williams has beaten Judd Trump and Tom Ford to reach the semis (Picture: Getty Images)
Stephen Hendry suggested Williams wouldn’t be bothered by that record, but Allen thinks otherwise.
‘He actually message me before the last time we played,’ he said. ‘So it’s in there somewhere. But he’s playing great snooker.
‘The clearance he took the other night against Tom Ford is one of the best I’ve ever seen in my life and to beat Judd 10-4 he’s obviously doing a lot of things well.’
Williams has already improved a poor record this tournament, beating Judd Trump for the first time over a long-format match.
‘It’s about time I beat Judd because I have lost a few close matches against him,’ said the three-time world champion. ‘To beat the player of the season so far 10-4, I can’t ask for any more than that, even though he didn’t play well.
‘My game is as good as it could be given where I am in my career. It’s not going to get better now, I’ll just try to keep it going for as long as I can. This is a nice stepping stone ahead of the Crucible.’
Allen said of that big win: ‘The scoreline for Mark Williams tonight was a bit of a surprise but he is one of the all-time greats. I will need to pay well and I always look forward to playing him.’
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