Mark Allen beats Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to Riyadh Season Snooker Championship win and £250,000 | Snooker News

Mark Allen earns career-highest payday with win at Riyadh Season Snooker Championship; Northern Irishman wins £250,000 for beating Luca Brecel in final; Allen beats Ronnie O’Sullivan in semi-finals to leave ‘Rocket’ still waiting for first title of 2024/25

Mark Allen won the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship

Mark Allen won his first title of the 2024/25 season with victory at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-finals before defeating Luca Brecel to claim the £250,000 first prize.

Allen’s best results this campaign before his success in Saudi Arabia were reaching the semi-finals of the British Open, the UK Championship, the Scottish Open and the Champion of Champions.

The Northern Irishman defeated four-time world champion Mark Selby 4-2 in the quarter-finals in Riyadh and returned a day later to beat seven-time Crucible king O’Sullivan by the same scoreline.

He then hammered 2023 world champion Brecel 5-1 in the final after losing the first frame, firing in two centuries and a break of 50 as he earned the biggest payday of his career.

Allen had also won £250,000 after winning the UK Championship in York in 2022.

The golden ball remains unpotted throughout the tournament

No player in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship took the Golden Ball and won $1 million for a break of 167, which is unique in the event in Saudi Arabia.

Players can only sink the golden ball after completing a Rule 147 break, but the closest to the maximum was China’s Zhang Anda, who broke after 12 red and blacks on the first day.

Champion Allen will now aim to win The Masters at Alexandra Palace for the second time in January after winning the title in 2018, defeating Kyren Wilson in the final.

O’Sullivan is the defending Masters champion, beating Ali Carter 10-7 in 2024, but is yet to get past the semi-finals of a tournament this season.

Masters Snooker Schedule 2025

The tournament will take place from January 12 to 19 at Alexandra Palace in London

First round (best of 11 frames)

Sunday January 12

1 p.m
Ronnie O’Sullivan v John Higgins
7 p.m
Shaun Murphy vs. Gary Wilson

Monday January 13

1 p.m
Mark Williams vs. Ding Junhui
7 p.m
Mark Selby vs. Ali Carter

Tuesday January 14

1 p.m
Judd Trump vs. Barry Hawkins
7 p.m
Mark Allen vs. Si Jiahui

Wednesday January 15

1 p.m
Kyren Wilson against your Zhang
7 p.m
Luca Brecel vs Chris Wakelin

Quarter Finals (Best of 11 Frames)

O’Sullivan/Higgins v Murphy/G Wilson
Allen/Si vs Selby/Carter
Trump/Hawkins vs. Williams/Ding
Brecel/Wakelin vs K Wilson/Zhang

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