Top seed Mark Allen crashes out of Players Championship in first round

World number 37 Joe O’Connor belied his status as the lowest-ranked player in the 16-man field.

Joe O’Connor (right) beat top seed Mark Allen (left) 6-3 on the opening day of the Players Championship (Nigel French/PA)

Top seed Mark Allen crashed out of the Duelbits Players Championship in the first round after suffering a 6-3 defeat to Joe O’Connor.

World number 37 O’Connor belied his status as the lowest-ranked player in the 16-man field with a number of cool clearances to book his place in the quarter-finals in Wolverhampton.