Mark Allen beats Shaun Murphy 9-7 in Scottish Open final (original) (raw)

Mark Allen targeted the World Championship after beating Shaun Murphy 9-7 to win the Scottish Open.

A week after losing the UK Championship final to Ronnie O'Sullivan, the Northern Irishman fought from behind to lead 6-3 with breaks of 82, 64 and 70.

However, England's Murphy, a former world champion, roared back to lead 7-6, before the Masters champion held his nerve to win the next three frames.

"I know I've got the game [to win the World Championship]," said Allen.

"I feel great. Every time I go to the table now I'm feeling confident."

In the semi-final Allen, 32, fought back from 4-0 and 5-2 down to claim a 6-5 win over Welshman Daniel Wells, before saying "I don't deserve to be in the final".

Allen was highly critical of his own approach in the tournament, with the world number six adding that he had "disrespected" the world ranking event.

He could only manage a top break of 24 in the opening four frames in Saturday's match against Wells, who was playing in his first ranking semi-final.

Instead of going to the practice table, the Masters champion opted to have a couple of drinks during the interval, and even claimed he had been hungover in matches.

Allen had suggested on Saturday he was unlikely to have an early night before the final against Murphy, who defeated Judd Trump 6-3 in the second semi-final.

"I could stay in tonight and go to bed early and feel horrendous tomorrow," said Allen.

"I would deserve to feel that way for the disrespect I've showed to the tournament all week. So I may as well go out and have a good time."