Snooker: Allen repeats China triumph

Mark Allen retained his Haikou World Open title after beating Matthew Stevens 10-4 in the final in China yesterday.

The Northern Irishman (above) became the first person to win a world ranking tournament in successive years since John Higgins, whom Allen beat in the semi-final yesterday, triumphed in the Welsh Open in 2010 and 2011.

"I'm very happy to win and retain my title, to win the same tournament two years in a row is a great achievement," Allen said .

"The snooker wasn't as good as I had hoped. I didn't get into a rhythm and I didn't score very heavily. The scoreline was flattering, it wasn't as one-sided as that."