Mark Allen admitted he had to overcome some nerves during his 4-1 victory over Chang Bingyu, as the home favourite made a solid start to his Northern Ireland Open defence.
The Antrim man made a couple of errors as he lost the opening frame — something he puts down to nerves. But he quickly gathered his composure at the Waterfront, Belfast, to win the next four and seal his place in the second round.
Ad “I was nervous, I felt good all day and I felt really nervous when I got out there for some reason, just being in Belfast,” Allen told Eurosport’s Jimmy White and Rachel Casey afterwards.
British Open'Biggest win of my life' — Day defeats Allen in incredibly tense clash to win British Open02/10/2022 AT 22:21 “I haven't stepped foot in this arena since last year when I won.