Mark Allen singles out the only player capable of winning $1m prize at Riyadh Season Snooker Championship

Mark Allen believes only one snooker star is capable of making history and earning $1m at the Riyadh Championship.

Organisers of the Saudi tournament have put forward a mouthwatering $1million pre-Christmas bonus up for grabs, doubled from last year, for the first player to make a 167 - with a host of top players including number one ranked Judd Trump and world champion Kyren Wilson making up a star-studded line-up. But world number four Allen believes that organisers have to change the criteria for winning the bumper cash prize - after watching Scots star John Higgins narrowly miss out on $500,000 last year.

The Golden Ball, placed midway along the top cushion, is worth 20 points after a traditional 147 maximum, but Northern Irishman Allen told SportsBoom.com: "If anyone can pot that along that baulk cushion for a million dollars then they deserve it.

"I genuinely think if they want to see a bit of history with the 167 then they should put it somewhere else. Outside of maybe Ronnie [O'Sullivan], I don’t know who could pot that ball for a million. It’s a massive amount of money. I know John [Higgins] had a chance last year and he said his hands and legs were shaking because it was a lot of money.

"You’re talking about a four-time world champion and one of the greatest ever. If he’s talking like that, what chance have the rest of us got. They could put it somewhere more sensible and then a lot more people would go for it I think. Because of where it is, a lot of people would be put off by it straightaway. For argument’s sake if people knew it was going on the blue spot once you pot the blue and pink it would make it a bit more exciting."

Asked how he reckons he would fare with the pressure of a potential $1million on