Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen is hoping his win at the International Championship can give him the belief needed to win more tournaments this season.

The 32-year-old battled his way to the final last week after some thrilling performances that saw him overcome the likes of Alfie Burden, Allister Carter and Matthew Stevens.

He faced Australia’s Neil Robertson during the final on Sunday and he claimed the trophy and £175,000 top prize in Daqing after a 10-5 success. ‘The Pistol’ also won the Masters earlier this year at Alexandra Palace but his last ranking title before Sunday’s win came in 2016.

Both Allen and Robertson showed plenty of confidence during their epic battle but Allen came through and he insists he will try to use the win as a platform for the future.

He told World Snooker: “This is what I want to do. I want to win tournaments and I want to win big events.

“It is not easy to win tournaments these days, especially with so many good players, but I’ve played really well all week. There were very few times where I struggled, apart from getting over the line in the final because of the pressure.

“I think I was very close to the form I showed in winning the Masters. In patches I actually played better, the first session of the final in particular.

“There is only one winner at every tournament and there are 127 that go home very disappointed. I appreciate how hard it is to win these events, so I am not going to get carried away.”

Allen will now head to the Champion of Champions event and he is 15.00 to win the title.