Allen in Pole Position
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen made the perfect start to the Winner’s Group in the Championship League staking his claim on a Premier League debut later this year.
The world number 11 won his three matches on day one, leaving top of the table above Stephen Maguire and Neil Robertson, who both lost one match.
World champion and provisional world number one, John Higgins lies in sixth place after winning just one of his opening three matches at the Crondon Park venue in Essex.
It can all change on Day Two, though with the top four qualifying for the play-off with only the eventual winner of the knock-out stage earning a place in the lucrative Sky Sports event which breaks off in September.
Jamie Cope who was the last player into the winner’s group by winning Group 7 on Tuesday is all but out of contention after losing all four matches on Wednesday.
