Mark Allen’s ‘bottle’ dig spurred on Stuart Bingham

Stuart Bingham has revealed how a casual jibe from Irish cueman Mark Allen spurred him to become world champion.

Antrim man Allen claimed in 2011 that Bingham had “no bottle”, but it came back to haunt the Antrim man when he lost to the Basildon potter at the Australian Goldfields Open that year.

Bingham went on to claim that title, his first major victory after over 10 barren years as a professional, and the 38-year-old has gone from strength to strength, adding another major trophy at the Shanghai Masters this season and now the Betfred World Championship.