Phil Haigh
Published December 2, 2025 9:56am
Updated December 2, 2025 9:56am
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Mark Allen fell at the first UK Championship hurdle on Monday (Picture: Getty Images)
Mark Allen may have lost heavily to Scott Donaldson at the UK Championship on Monday night, but does not think he was beaten by the tournament winner.
The Pistol was favourite going into the match but was a long way from his best and lost 6-1 to the Scot, who came through qualifying to reach the Barbican.
The match was a bit of a grind, with a number of long frames, which Donaldson kept winning as he did enough to book a spot in the last 16 against Ding Junhui.
A former Championship League winner, the 31-year-old has been as high as 22 in the world rankings, but Allen cannot see him landing a major title this week.
‘No, I don’t think he can,’ Allen said when asked whether Donaldson could win the UK Championship. ‘I don’t think he’s going to play to that level every round.
‘I think people are going to put him under more pressure than I put him under. He’s been a pro for a long time and he hasn’t come close, so I don’t see a change in this week.
‘I’d love him to, but you’re asking me for an honest answer and I’m always going to give it. I’m sure there wouldn’t be a more fitting winner than Scott this week, given everything he’s gone through recently, but no, I don’t think so.’
Scott Donaldson is into the last 16 in York (Picture: Getty Images)
Donaldson beat Stuart Bingham 6-5 in the final round of qualifying, winning six frames on the spin to do so and after the match he emotionally put the miraculous comeback down to his recently departed dad helping him out.
His father died in October and Donaldson was fighting back tears as he walked into the arena to face Allen on Monday.
The Scot also suffered with a tremor which badly affected his performances in recent years and Allen, while not expecting him to win the event, gives him great credit for dealing with.
‘He’s been through a hell of a lot,’ said the Northern Irishman. ‘Just to be still playing and competing, given the problems he had through COVID and the long-term effects of that, and then obviously his father passed away very suddenly.
Donaldson plays Ding Junhui for a place in the quarter-finals (Picture: Getty Images)
‘It takes a big, big character just to continue playing. I don’t know how I’d feel if my father passed away. I don’t think I’d want to be turning up for the next tournament or two, so all credit to Scott.’
Donaldson was delighted to pick up one of the biggest wins of his career so far, but was not getting carried away as he explained his relaxed approach to the sport.
‘I don’t generally treat snooker serious anyway, you shouldn’t be like that,’ he said. ‘Obviously it’s my job and I do practise hard and stuff like that, but it’s a game, at the end of the day, it’s not live it life or death.
‘Obviously what I’ve been through I can tell you what’s important and what’s not important, so when the pressure comes on I tell myself, “what are you talking about, this is just a game of snooker, get on with it”.’
Donaldson has been to four ranking semi-finals, but none since 2019 and he accepts that he can be inconsistent on the table.
‘I’m not a Ronnie O’Sullivan or a Judd Trump,’ he said. ‘This game is pretty hard, I don’t know if you’ve ever tried playing it before, but it isn’t easy, especially at a professional level.
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‘We’ve all got different techniques, I’m very one-sided in my eye and if I’m not on it, it can look like I’m just a league player, but if I’m on it I can play.
‘But I don’t treat results as the be-all and end-all, I’m always trying hard regardless of how bad I’m playing, so that’s all I can really give myself, is I always try 100 per cent.
‘I play snooker for a living and I enjoy it. I actually really enjoy the qualifiers, because there’s no fuss around it, it’s just a game of snooker, you and your opponent and that’s it, you just walk off.
‘I’m quite a quiet person generally, so I don’t really like these big arenas and big crowds, it’s just not my personality, but once I’m on the table I can connect to it, because that’s what I do for a living.’
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