World number 52 Scott Donaldson scored one of the best wins of his career by beating eighth seed Mark Allen in a night finish on day three of the UK Championships.
Donaldson, whose father Hector died at age 70 on Oct. 2, cried as he walked to the arena before the game, as the song he chose, Babylon by David Gray, was one of his father’s favorites.
The 31-year-old Scot had caused a major upset by coming back from 5-0 down to defeat former world champion Stuart Bingham 6-5 in the final qualifying round and Donaldson maintained that form at the York Barbican.
He led former world number one Allen 3-0, and the Northern Irishman, who won this tournament in 2022, fell back one before the mid-session interval.
But in a match filled with long, difficult frames, one of which lasted an hour and another around 50 minutes, Donaldson managed to keep getting closer to victory, before sealing a 6-1 victory.
There was also drama on table two as, for the first time in this year’s tournament, a decisive frame was needed with China’s Zhang Anda claiming a 6-5 victory over England’s Gary Wilson.
Zhang now plays against China’s reigning world champion Zhao Xintong after he earned a 6-1 victory over compatriot Long Zehuang in Monday’s afternoon session.
More to follow.
