Mark Allen acknowledged that he would prefer to play Zhang Anda in Sunday’s Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship final in Telford.
Despite not being at his best, the Northern Irishman defeated Ali Carter 6-3 to advance from the first semi-final at the Telford International Centre.
At the Players Championship, during John Higgins’ quarterfinal matchup with Zhang Anda, play was halted due to a medical emergency in the audience. While medical personnel responded to the scene inside the Telford International Centre, the celebrities and fans were removed from the table.
Higgins was leading 12-5 in the opening frame before a commotion was heard in the audience just a few minutes into the contest, with the referee’s attention grabbed.
After the two players were spotted leaving the stage, ITV quickly announced that there had been a medical emergency that had caused the interruption in the show.
After that, spectators moved aside to make room for the medical staff that was present at the competition, but they came back after fifteen minutes when Higgins and Zhang started using the practice tables.
The World Snooker Tour (WST) explained the situation in a post on social media: “Spectators and both players have left the arena after someone in the crowd has been taken ill.”
The broadcaster has since confirmed that the concerned individual had left the scene after being given medical attention. Higgins and Zhang returned to the table at 1.45pm when play was resumed after a 22-minute break.
Despite not being at his best, the Northern Irishman defeated Ali Carter 6-3 to advance from the first semi-final at the Telford International Centre.
This season, Allen has already won the Snooker Shoot Out title and the invitational Champion of Champions title, leading him to his 19th career ranking final.
Allen, who was already assured of receiving a £50,000 payment this week, is now ranked tenth on the preliminary one-year rankings list.
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