Allen suffers shock defeat by Lines at NI Open

Mark Allen suffered a shock 4-3 defeat by Oliver Lines, ranked 83, in the second round of the Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

Lines won a nervy final frame decider after a mostly scrappy encounter on Wednesday, where Allen failed to find the form which helped him advance from his opening match of the tournament against Liu Hongyu earlier in the week.

Lines took the first frame on the black, then Allen levelled thanks to a break of 87.

A run of 73 in the next allowed the Englishman to restore his one-frame advantage but the world number three battled back to restore parity once again.

The Antrim player edged ahead for the first time but Lines won the next two to secure one of the biggest wins of his career.

"It wasn't a good performance. I felt edgy when I went out and it showed in the first frame when I had a couple of chances to close it out and I lost it on the black," Allen told BBC Sport NI after the match.

"I never really settled at all today. I don't know what to put that down to.

"I prepared properly for it, mentally I was pretty good, I just didn't perform."

The loss ended Allen's hopes of winning his home event for the third time in four years and he was magnanimous in defeat, conceding that his opponent deserved to win the tense deciding frame.

"I know I had a half chance at a pink in the middle part of the frame but the way the balls were, Ollie was always in control.

"His safety was very, very good and I knew I was always going to have to fight for everything. I didn't play well enough, Ollie deserved it.

"Some days it just doesn't work. That's all I'm going to put it down to. I'm not going to over-think it."

Also on Wednesday, 2023 world champion Luca Brecel bowed out 4-1 to China's Pang Junxu, Lei Peifan saw off Tom Ford by the same score and Elliot Slessor defeated Long Zehuang 4-2.

Jimmy White lost 4-2 to Martin O'Donnell.