Snooker’s Battle of the Exes! Reanne Evans refuses to bump fists with her former partner Mark Allen
Snooker star Reanne Evans REFUSES to bump fists with former partner Mark Allen – the father of her daughter – at British Open… as Northern Irishman admits ‘it was horrible’ after coming back to win
Evans and Allen have a 14-year-old daughter from a three-year relationshipHowever, it ended acrimoniously in 2008 and there clearly remains bad blood The last time they were in the same room, Allen demanded Evans was removed
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Mark Allen narrowly avoided the nightmare of losing to his former girlfriend Reanne Evans — after she snubbed his pre-match fist bump.
This was the first time the feuding exes, who have a 14-year-old daughter together from a three-year relationship which ended in 2008, have been drawn to face each other in a professional match.
And 12-time women’s world champion Evans lit the touch paper when she refused to touch hands with Allen as he approached her before breaking off in their British Open first-round clash.
Reanne Evans (right) refused a fist bump from Mark Allen (left) in snooker’s battle of the exes
Allen reached out his hand to greet his ex-partner but Evans ignored him and he turned away
Think John Terry and Wayne Bridge at Stamford Bridge in 2010 but with more bad blood.
And just like Bridge’s snub of Terry all those years ago, Evans refused Allen’s attempted fist bump before she broke for the first frame of this best-of-five grudge match. The Battle of the Exes was on.
In the best-of-five game, Evans led 2-1 and was one red away from becoming the first woman to beat a man in a televised tournament.
But Allen was able to capitalise on the 35-year-old’s miss to take the fourth frame and then held his nerve to win the decider with a break of 68.
The awkward encounter has been compared to John Terry and Wayne Bridge’s clash in 2010
Evans and Allen kept their distance throughout the match, which was broadcast live on ITV4
‘It was horrible,’ admitted Allen about the occasion at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
‘It was nothing I want to go through too often, but I had to remain as professional as possible.
‘I can hold my head high. I treated it like any other match and showed respect where respect was due. I thought Reanne played well. She was unlucky in frame four and at that point she would have deserved to win. She played much better than me.’
Allen refused to comment about his opponent’s refusal to touch hands at the start but Evans said: ‘I was told at the start no handshakes or anything.
‘In my head, I had visualised the match and just went straight to the table.
‘No one wanted that match but you have to respect the top players. I am absolutely gutted but I am really proud at the same time. Hopefully more girls and women start playing snooker and realise that they can do it as well.’
The warring pair have a daughter from their three-year relationship which ended badly in 2008
Evan’s actions were perhaps revenge for Allen’s antics at the World Championships in April. The Northern Irishman was practising in the same Crucible room as Evans was working as a BBC pundit.
It prompted Allen to complain that his ex was causing a distraction and demand her removal. Organisers controversially complied, leaving Evans upset.
That spat in Sheffield only highlighted tensions that have been simmering for years and have even ended up in court.
Evans has asked Allen to increase his child maintenance for their daughter Lauren, having become unhappy with his previous payments of around £100 per month.
But the 2018 Masters champion, who has career earnings of almost £3.5million, declared himself bankrupt earlier this year and is in the process of getting divorced from his wife Kyla McGuigan.
Ex-world champion Shaun Murphy (pictured) described the grudge match as a ‘car crash’
After losing the first frame, Evans took a scrappy second and had to tell her excited fans to ‘calm down’.
She then went 2-1 up with breaks of 56 and 49 and looked set to make history before she missed a red down the cushion and 2018 Masters champion Allen showed his class.
Meanwhile John Higgins notched the 12th 147 of his career to move clear of Stephen Hendry and go second behind Ronnie O’Sullivan in the all-time list of maximum makers.
The 46-year-old’s clearance came in the first frame of his 3-1 victory over Alexander Ursenbacher.
Meanwhile, John Higgins notched the 12th 147 of his career to move second in the all-time list
