By Alvin McCaig BBC Sport NI

Mark Allen will be playing for his top 16 status at the World Championship

If you like your snooker fast and furious then pencil in a possible World Championship clash between Mark Allen and defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Two of the game's entertainers will meet in a Crucible shoot-out if they come through their opening matches.

It would be a first game between world number one O'Sullivan and the 23-year-old from Antrim in Northern Ireland.

Allen desperately wants to take on the Rocket but his first-round game against Martin Gould is the one which will decide his future.

The former world amateur champion lies 14th in the provisional world rankings and his place in the elite top 16 hinges on the outcome of the encounter, which starts on Sunday.

Allen has been inconsistent in his first season in the top 16 but he believes he can be unstoppable if he produces his best in Sheffield.

"Obviously my focus is on beating Martin in what is a huge game for me, but it will be no easy task," he said.

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"If I go out there and play the snooker I am capable of then I should be fine.

"It's amazing I've never played Ronnie before - we have been on course to meet four times but on each occasion one of us has lost a match in the previous round.

"Ronnie is a genius and I'd love to face him on the biggest stage in our sport.

"If I perform I feel I can beat him and go on and win the tournament."

A semi-final appearance in the Bahrain Championship has been a rare highlight in his debut year in the top 16.

Allen is plagued by inconsistency and the adjustment from being a qualifier to regular tour player has proved difficult.

However, his philosophy on how snooker should be played remains constant.

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"I'm not happy with how I've performed this season and inconsistency has been my downfall," he added.

"My match sharpness is not there and this is partly because I was playing more regularly when I was a qualifier than I do now in the top 16.

"The standard is just so high and in the first round of tournaments you are always facing a quality player who has that sharpness from coming through the qualifiers.

"Winning a tournament would really kick-start things for me but at the same time if I drop out of the top 16 it would not be the end of the world.

"I still love the game and I love entertaining people - that's what I aim to do.

"I feel you should always entertain as people pay their money and they want to see a good show."

Allen will be one of three Northern Ireland players competing at the Crucible.

His friend Joe Swail, a World Championship semi-finalist in 2000 and 2001, starts against Marco Fu, while Gerard Greene takes on Ali Carter.

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