Runner-up at last year's UK Championship, Allen has finally gone one better and picks up a first prize of £75,000 to boot.

The 26 year-old from Antrim carried a huge 8-1 lead into the evening session and two frames were all that were required for Allen to seal a magnificent victory.

He took a scrappy tenth frame before a marvellous clearance of 104 saw him cruise past the finishing post in quick time, wrapping up the the most one-sided ranking event final since Stephen Maguire beat David Gray 10-1 at the 2004 UK Championship.

The damage had already been done in the afternoon as Allen weighed in with breaks of 104, 50, 127, 53, 55 and 123 to put the match well under his control. Lee had no real answer, as he looked out of sorts in sharp contrast to some of his blistering performances throughout the week.

One sided

"I played pretty well today. I started out well and put Stephen under pressure. I think when I was 4-0 up he knew he had to play pretty much flawless for the rest of the match. He showed in the last few months how well he's playing and that he's nearly back to his best," said Allen.

Allen's stock will have risen considerably this week and with the China Open and World Championship approaching, he will surely be fancying his chances of adding to his trophy cabinet.

"It's hard to imagine that you're going to win so comfortably, it can be difficult when you do have a lead as it can be hard to keep concentration. But I think I did that pretty well today and didn't give Stephen a chance to get back in the game and I closed the match out very well," he added, whose previous biggest title was the invitational 2009 Jiangsu Classic, also in China.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet; it may take a day or two but I think once I get home and see my family and friends we'll have celebratory drink and I think it will sink in that I've actually done it.

"It's been a long time coming as I've been a pro for seven years now. Sometimes you question if you're ever going to win one especially if you look at the players who have been winning tournaments as I know I'm as good, if not better as some people who have won events so you have to be strong mentally and I think this will be the first of many.

"I'll be back to defend my title - I'll always look forward to playing in front of a Chinese crowd and they seem to enjoy watching me play.

"As I've said before I don't really enjoy the travelling but that's part and parcel of being a professional sports person.

"I'll celebrate with my family and friends when at home but after that it's back to business and practice for the next tournament as it's a long season and I'm not going to get carried away. But I'll enjoy this one.

"I don't think I have anything to worry about any more - the biggest worry I had was winning this tournament and all the pressure is going to be on other players to beat me," added Allen, who is up to No 7 in the world rankings.

Disappointment

Lee was very disappointed at his showing in the final match but took something from the week after a string of quality performances.

"Mark got off to a good start and I couldn't get into the match and it went a bit one sided, and ended one sided," said Lee.

"I was a bit disappointed at the end of the week but I have had a great time this week and the best man won on the day.

"I was devastated that I've not played a part in the final today. At this level if you don't play your part, you get steamrollered and Mark could see I was struggling to get involved in the match. If you can see people down then you keep them down and Mark has done a good job on me today and good luck to him," he added.