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MARK ALLEN RECOVERED from a nightmare start to the second session of his second-round match against Chris Wakelin by completing the 15th maximum break at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
Allen receives a £40,000 bonus in prize money as a result but faces an uphill battle to stay in the tournament as he trails Wakelin 12-4.
The Antrim star had failed to pot a ball in the three previous frames as qualifier Wakelin proceeded to turn a 6-2 overnight advantage into a 10-2 lead.
But Allen made his intentions clear in the first frame after the mid-session interval, targeting a long black and riding his luck on the yellow to wrap up his first 147 at the famous venue.
Allen punched the air before even sinking the black and was warmly congratulated by Wakelin, who is now just one frame away from the quarter-finals.
MARK ALLEN HITS CRUCIBLE MAX #15! 🔥
— WST (@WeAreWST) April 25, 2025
Congratulations to the @Midnite Maximum Winner Brian Nicholls who wins £25,000 🤯👏#MidniteMaximum | #HaloWorldChampionship pic.twitter.com/K2U6EQsg9K
A remarkable session had started in anguish for Allen, who missed a simple yellow off its spot in the first frame of the day to gift Wakelin a 7-2 lead.
The 33-year-old from Rugby then proceeded to play faultless snooker as he reeled off the next three frames without Allen scoring a point, including three remarkable pots with the white tight on the bottom cushion.
Wakelin potted a yellow to the middle in the 12th frame that seven-time champion Stephen Hendry, commentating on the BBC, called “one of the best shots I’ve ever seen”.
Co-commentator Steve Davis hailed an “astonishing performance” by Wakelin, adding: “There have been some fantastic shots played over the years at the Crucible, but that’s up there in the top 10 for me.”
With reporting by Gavin Cooney
Written by Press Association and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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This must be the first 50 jobs created in Wexford since Ivan Yates left politics, because Paul Kehoe, John Browne and Brendan Howlin have done NOTHING for the county.
Lots of jobs in Clear Stream recently announced (Enniscorthy). But there needs to be a lot more done, you are right there. I commute daily to Dublin from Enniscorthy, and the amount of other people from the county that do so, makes it very sad that we have no jobs at home. Wexford has been ignored alright, IDA needs to get its finger out but we also need a better environment for entrepreneurs.
We need to get away from parochial style politics though, Ministers should be for the whole country, not just their own constituency. Local government needs more power and local people need more support for organisations like Enterprise Ireland.
IDA are putting their focus on Waterford not Wexford in an attempt to make it a regional economic hub.
Focus on home start ups and local businesses.
If people expect the IDA to plant a multi national in every county in the country they are living in a fantasy, hoping that someone else will sort things out for them.
Home grown businesses are the only solution to Ireland’s job and economic crisis.
90% of jobs are outside of Multi-nationals.
We won’t hear Coppinger, Murphy and Higgins praise these new jobs. They don’t like good news and prefer to keep people feeling down
Thew are all fake jobs “created” by this fake government. Join the national strike on 10 December and throw these multicultural pushing Rothschild supporting traitors over the cliff.
what are fake about the jobs?
What’s the fake part about this? And it is far from a national strike.
Mumm well Danone .
And still nothing for laois
There were at least two jobs announcements for Portlaoise just last week.
Trolls out again all the red thumbs kiss my butt trolls
Which employers exactly are you trying to attract with that language?
have your say