By:
Graeme Hanna
Mark Allen may have landed the English Open, and with it the £100,000 winners’ prize, but the Antrim man has hit out at the lack of impact it will have on his standing in the world rankings.
The Pistol shot down Zhou Yuelong 9-8 in the Brentwood final on Sunday, coming from behind as he had all week in every game, toward lifting the Steve Davis trophy.
Mark Allen beat Zhou 9-8, following on from 4-3 wins against Stuart Bingham and Ding Junhui, as well as overcoming Elliot Slessor 5-4, and 6-5 against Jak Jones.
In all five of Allen’s games, he prevailed in the deciding frame.
The English Open victory was a welcome one for the 39-year-old, his 12th career ranking title, but it is not a trophy that carries as much weight as others, possibly in the ‘third tier’ of events in professional snooker.
The victory comes with a substantial £100,000 top prize, but Mark Allen has criticised the disparity with rewards in other tournaments.
He referenced the recent Saudi Arabia masters, won by Neil Robertson in a 10-9 success over Ronnie O’Sullivan, which comes with a whopping £500,000 jackpot.
Allen’s point was that he won one more match at the English Open, and yet just one less frame (33 compared to 32), yet the prize in Jeddah was five times greater.
Not only is there a gap in pure financial terms, but it has a direct influence on the prize money rankings.
“I’m assuming with coming here and winning one more match than Neil won in Saudi and one frame less than he won that I’ll be pretty close to him on the one-year list now?” Allen pondered sarcastically.
“I think that says all you need to know about the world rankings and how they work. I could win one frame less and one match more and be £400,000 behind.
“Something definitely needs to change in that regard.”
Exclusive: Mark Allen took a potshot at the rankings system after his English Open triumph. Quipped he should be close to @nr147 on the one-year list after latest title.
He knows his best snooker can compete with the top boys and is eying another big season @pistol147 pic.twitter.com/ufGNoekmA2
— Shane MacDermott (@_ShaneMacD) September 23, 2025
Why did Mark Allen take aim at the snooker rankings?
You can understand where he is coming from, but unfortunately, as in all sports, some events will carry more weight than others, including the backing received from influential sponsors.
However, snooker authorities should be careful to ensure more of a balance in points for winning tournaments, rather than letting prize money dictate the standings.
At present, Neil Robertson is third in the world rankings, with Mark Allen now in seventh place.
The separate one-year ranking list has Robertson at number one and Allen three places behind. This list is obviously based on the previous 12 months and is influential in qualification for specific tournaments later in the season.
Conversely, the full world rankings are based on performances over the previous two years.
Points over money in the one-year rankings would instantly deliver a greater parity, as well as adding importance to the Home Nations events, like the English Open.
Image credit: connectni/X
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