Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen says he is raring to go as he prepares to face home favourite Ding Junhui at the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday. The world No.11 advanced to the second round on Monday after he battled past fellow Chinese star Xiao Guodong.

Allen lost the first frame but bounced back in the second with a fabulous break of 92. A break of 51 then followed as the two players continued to take frames off each other. Heading into the eighth, Allen trailed 3-4 to Xiao but he soon found his rhythm when it mattered. He reeled off breaks of 81, 59 and 102 to wrap up the win but he still remains the outsider for Tuesday’s clash.

Ding is 1.61 to win, with Allen the 2.10 outsider and the home favourite comes into the game in good form.

The 31-year-old reached the final of the 6 Red World Championship before losing to Kyren Wilson but Allen believes he can pull off a shock win.

After his win on Monday, he wrote on Instagram: “Happy with the win and the way I finished the match off. Looking forward to tomorrow nights match against the home fav.”

Ding has shown signs of vulnerability on occasions this season, losing in the second round of the World Open. With the home crowd behind him, he will no doubt be relishing the occasion and a 6-3 win for Ding is 6.50 with Dafabet.