Antrim’s Mark Allen to face Ronnie O’Sullivan in next round of World Snooker Championship

Antrim’s Mark Allen will take on six-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the next round of the World Snooker Championship, although O’Sullivan could be sanctioned in the meantime.

Allen made it through the opening round after grinding out a 10-6 win over Scott Donaldson in what was a scrappy encounter.

“I struggled a little bit with the table - it wasn't the best I've ever played on.” Allen told Eurosport, following the Easter Monday victory.

“It actually got worse as the day went on. Me and Scott both had to speak to the ref to see if it was the same set of balls this evening because the table played completely different.

“It was tough. It doesn’t lend itself to the prettiest of snooker when you’re getting big bounces and scared of when it’s going to come.”

He added: “To make it 2-2, I felt I got out of jail a little bit because he was by far the better player at that point.

“Scott was getting on top, real good safety and I had a lot of awkward shots. I was just hanging in there.

“I had to find a bit of form because I didn’t think I had much at the start. I controlled it from there, but there were still one or two mistakes which you can’t afford to be making.”

Allen will now face O’Sullivan at the Crucible, although his opponent is facing a possible fine in the wake of his first round 10-5 win over David Gilbert.

O’Sullivan missed a black off the spot in the 13th frame and appeared to make a lewd gesture while walking back to his seat.

“We are aware of the incident and it has been referred to the WPBSA disciplinary committee,” a World Snooker Tour spokesperson told the PA news agency.