Mark Allen has become the sixth man to move into the Winners’ Group of Championship League Snooker.
UK finalist Allen moved a step closer to playing in the prestigious Premier League Snooker event in the autumn as he beat Dominic Dale 3-2 in the Group Six final at Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex.
“It’s a bit of a relief to get into the Winners’ Group as I had chances in previous groups but lost to Mark Selby and Mark King in semi-finals,” said Allen.
“You don’t feel like you’re in this tournament until you get into the Winners’ Group.
“It’s good match practice ahead of next week. It’s only the best of five but you have to be sharp as you’re playing the best players.
“The Premier League is a big thing and Sky brings more attention so it would be nice to get Sky coverage and play in a big tournament.
“It sells out where ever it goes and been one of the best events of the season over the last 15 or 20 years.
“I lost to Marco Fu in the Championship League final (in 2009) and I still haven’t got over that.
“I was 2-0 up and he needed a snooker on the pink and black and I lost but hopefully I can get over that hurdle and get into the Premier League.”
Allen now joins Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Mark Davis and Barry Hawkins and the winner of Group Seven in the Winners’ Group where the overall champion will claim a place in the Premier League.
Dale, Peter Ebdon, Marcus Campbell and Joe Perry have one final chance as they move into Group Seven where they will be joined by Ding Junhui, Marco Fu and Ryan Day on March 19 and 20.
Ebdon claimed the £500 highest break prize with his effort of 142 in a 3-1 victory over Perry.
Mark King and Jamie Cope finished in the bottom two after the Group Six league phase and are eliminated from the competition.
The Championship League Snooker event is a venture between Matchroom Sport and Perform where 25 of the game's finest players compete with all matches broadcast on a host of betting websites.
Each group features seven players with each man playing the other six once in a round-robin basis. Every match is the best of five and the winner gaining a point. At the end of the league phase the top four advances to that group's semi-finals where the two winners meet in the final.
Players are awarded £100 per frame in the round robin stages, and this increases to £300 per frame for the play-offs. In addition, £3,000 goes to the play-off winner, £2,000 to the runner up and £1,000 each to the two semi-finalists.
Each group winner then goes through to the final group on March 21st & 22nd where big money as well as a spot in the Sky Sports-televised Premier League Snooker is up for grabs. The two bottom players are eliminated from the competition, while the remaining four move forward to Group Seven to be joined by three new players.
Play continues tomorrow at 11.00am when the remaining nine group matches take place, followed by the play-offs.