Champion of Champions 2024: Xiao Guodong continues dream run to end Mark Allen’s title defence and reach final on debut

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Xiao Guodong has reached the 2024 Champion of Champions final after beating world No. 3 and defending champion Mark Allen. It is a third major victory in the last two days for Xiao, who completed miraculous comebacks to down seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan and No. 4 seed Mark Selby on Thursday to reach the semi-final. Xiao will play either Neil Robertson or Mark Williams in the final.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Xiao Guodong's fairytale week continued as he beat defending champion Mark Allen 6-3 on Friday to reach his first ever Champion of Champions final.

The 35-year-old - making his debut at the tournament in Bolton - claimed a remarkable double scalp to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby on Thursday, before ending Allen’s bid for back-to-back titles a day later.

Xiao was the stronger player throughout the tie before he sealed the impressive win by a three-frame cushion.

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Allen began his seventh Champion of Champions semi-final with a 65 break in the opener, until he caught an elementary red in the top right jaws and allowed Xiao to mount a steal attempt.

The world No. 16 set down a marker with a faultless clearance of 71 to snatch the frame from his Northern Irish counterpart and take the early lead.

It was a similar story in the second frame. Allen made a nice 53 break to get things rolling, but this time, he did not leave a starter for Xiao to build on.

The Chinese player did close the gap considerably, but after an exchange of safety shots between the pair, the defending champion got over the line to get on the board.

And then Allen’s title defence was cast into doubt as he dropped his eighth frame of the tournament - the same number he dropped in the entirety of his title-winning campaign last season in Bolton - as Xiao fired down a terrific 83 break in the third frame.

Xiao, who knocked Allen out of the International Championship last month with a 6-2 victory, followed his efforts up with another significant break of 71 to stamp his authority on proceedings with a 3-1 lead.

It looked as though Xiao was heading for a three-frame cushion when he put together a run of 38, but he left the black hanging over the top right pocket, and Allen was able to return to the baize and sink his first ball in 43 minutes.

The champion looked unsettled as he rose from his chair, but registered 43 points on his next visit and took advantage of a sloppy Xiao strike to claim a crunch frame and reduce his opponent’s advantage to one.

And then Allen roared back into contention when his break of 55 contributed to a total clearance of 78, which Xiao could not overturn with a snooker as the match became level at 3-3.

But once again the tie began to run away from Allen, as Xiao continued the impressive form he had shown all week to move two more frames ahead for a 5-3 lead.

In a tight final frame, which could easily have gone either way, an outrageous long yellow from Xiao helped him to clinch victory.

Xiao told ITV: "I just tell myself to play every shot, telling myself I could do it when it went to 3-3. I don't care if I play Mark or Neil because they're both good - legends. I will just enjoy. That's it."

Allen added: "No complaints. The right player won. But I enjoyed that match more than I did on Monday, even though I won. It was good to experiment with some big tournaments coming up."

Xiao will play either Neil Robertson or Mark Williams in the final, as the pair face-off tomorrow in the second last-four tie.

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