The first round of The Masters continues on Tuesday afternoon when the former champion Mark Allen looks to continue his fine season when he meets Barry Hawkins who was one win from lifting this title last year.
These two men know all about going deep at Alexandra Palace and with them having watched on as the draw has opened up they will know that if they can come through this match there is an opportunity for another title tilt.
Mark Allen
These days when we look at form we use the one-year ranking list and Mark Allen is a country mile clear on that particular ranking after his successes at the Northern Ireland Open and the UK Championship. He was also a finalist in the British Open too so this has been a wonderful campaign for the much more slim lined version of the Northern Irishman. He probably wouldn’t have wanted Christmas to come given the form he was in.
Allen won this title in 2018 but in a weird twist of fate his win over Kyren Wilson in the final that year was the last time he won a match at Alexandra Palace. Since then he has four first round defeats with them coming to Luca Brecel, Dave Gilbert, John Higgins and Judd Trump. It will be interesting to see how confident he is coming out here. He isn’t someone who doesn’t enjoy the big occasion so you would think those results are just a freak run rather than anything sinister in it.
Barry Hawkins
Usually we are not used to seeing Barry Hawkins feature deep in a tournament until we get to the new calendar year but that hasn’t been the case this season. He has already made the final of the European Masters where he found Kyren Wilson too good for him. Things have reverted to type for him since then although he was starting to look good at the English Open last month before he ran into a good version of Mark Williams in the last 32.
Hawkins actually has a decent enough record in this tournament over the last seven years or so. He missed the event two years ago but has made a couple of finals and a semi-final in the other six attempts he has had and when you consider the standard of player who makes it here that is a good record. Hawkins is someone who tends to go under the radar a little but at the same time he clearly gets inspired by the big arenas having also made the World Championship final back in the day.
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Head-to-head
These two men have met on 11 previous occasions although they haven’t faced each other since 2019 which is quite a statistic when you consider they have both been at the top end of the game in that time. Allen has seven wins to his name with Hawkins winning four but the Englishman will know he has won their only previous battle here when he came out on top in a quarter final in 2016. Despite winning three more matches, Allen only leads the frame count 53-49 which suggests their matches are often tight. That match here seven years ago is the only time they have met over the best of 11 frames.
Betting
Mark Allen has been the best player so far this season but he hasn’t always played his best snooker in winning tournaments. He has even admitted that himself and it is hard to keep going to the well and finding your best stuff. I wouldn’t say that he is vulnerable here necessarily but he definitely looks a little short given that he is up against a top class operator in Barry Hawkins who knows he can beat anyone and who thrives in these surroundings.
I don’t think Allen will be lacking confidence but he will know he will need his best snooker here and in truth it has been a while since we’ve seen that from him. He will also surely have a few doubts having lost in the first round in the last four years at Alexandra Palace, albeit he has lost three of those in a deciding frame. Hawkins doesn’t have a huge amount to lose here but he generally comes here and plays very well and if he does that I think he can continue the run of lower ranked players coming through.
Tips
Back B.Hawkins to beat M.Allen for a 3/10 stake at 2.60 with BetVictor
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