Mark Allen through to the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Snooker Championship

The Northern Irishman is the second player into the last eight of this year’s blue riband event following Shaun Murphy’s crushing win over Xiao Guodong on Friday morning. Allen will face either Barry Hawkins or Mark Williams across Tuesday and Wednesday in South Yorkshire.

Allen advanced from round one last week after a battling win over qualifier Zhang Anda, recovering from three frames down to record a 10-6 verdict. World number two Wilson - the champion here two years ago - produced a bigger comeback in his opening assignment at the Crucible, stringing seven consecutive frames from 7-3 down to deny teenage debutant Stan Moody, 10-7.

Their latest encounter had all the hallmarks of being a close affair, yet it was anything but during the initial exchanges as number 14 seed Allen established a 5-0 lead, aided by breaks of 50 and 78.

However, it was Englishman Wilson who ended the first session on Thursday on a positive note, as he got himself back into contention with a three-frame burst and runs 75 and 50 to reduce his arrears to just two at 5-3 behind.

And when they resumed the following afternoon, Wilson not only carried his momentum, but upped it, as he fashioned breaks of 71, 52 and 112 to make it six-in-a-row, and nudge in front for the first time at 6-5 in a big turnaround.

One of the quintessential charms of multi-session matches is how the pendulum can swing back and forth, and this was the case here, as Allen - who had scored a total of just 33 points across the previous six frames - flicked the switch, taking four of the next five frames for a 9-7 second session lead. In frame 15, ‘The Pistol’ conjured up an effort of 140; he achieved that same sequence during his first round game.

Returning for their concluding session on Saturday morning, reigning Masters champion Wilson cut his deficit in half with a 78, but efforts of 78 and 61 put Allen firmly in the box seat at 11-8 up.

Wilson secured the final frame before their last mid-session interval for 11-9 down, but on resumption, Allen deposited back-to-back frames for the win.

It is the sixth time that 40-year-old Allen has reached the last eight of the World Championship, but only the third instance since 2011. His best results on the Crucible stage came in 2009 and 2023 when he bowed out in the semi-finals.

His latest win is his first success over Wilson in Sheffield having been defeated by ‘The Warrior’ there in 2016 and 2018.

Former world number one Allen - who has won two thirds of snooker’s ‘Triple Crown’ with triumphs at the 2018 Masters and 2022 UK Championship - spoke last week about how he would be ‘very disappointed’ if his world title ambition goes unfulfilled.

The next obstacle for the Antrim cueman is likely to be world number 11 Hawkins who leads Williams 10-6 going into their final session on Saturday night.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 World Snooker Championship, visit our tournament information centre here.