There is no doubt that the 39-year-old Scot is one of the finest players in the history of the game. He has won nearly 40 tournaments since turning professional in 1985, including a record seven world titles.

However, Hendry is not the player he was five years ago and Allen's chances of replicating his convincing 9-4 win in the last 32 of the UK championship in December cannot be discounted.

Mark, at 22, is closing in on a place in the top 16. Currently he is provisionally ranked at No. 18, but if he can win two games at the China Open later this month and see off Hendry in Sheffield, he will break into the elite group, whose members do not have to qualify for tournaments.

Hendry, who was Allen's boyhood hero, has slipped to No. 7 in the rankings and hasn't won a title major title since he defeated fellow Scot Graeme Dott 9-7 in the final of the Malta Cup in 2005. In the 2006-07 season he showed signs of rediscovering his best form in the UK championship, beating Dave Harold and Mark Williams and leading Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 when the Rocket forfeited the match.

An impressive 9-7 win over Dott sent Hendry through to the final against Peter Ebdon, but despite taking a 3-1 lead, he failed to clinch a sixth UK title, losing by 10 frames to six.

Last year, when he was bidding to add to his world title conquests for the first time since 1999, Hendry survived a first round potential banana skin in Dave Gilbert, but suffered a 13-6 defeat in his next game against Ali Carter.

Allen and Hendry first met in the inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy - then an invitational event - and the Antrim left-hander crashed to a 5-1 defeat. "At that time Mark kept watching Stephen at the table and became awestruck," said his father Ronnie. "But the next time they played each other Mark, when he was in his chair, either listened to the balls or kept his eyes on the floor."

Allen possesses a good temperament and won't be fazed by tackling a player who has won more than £8 million in prize money and who has compiled more than 700 century breaks, including eight 'maximums'.

If Mark, who dumped out ex-champion Ken Doherty in the opening round a year ago, gets past Hendry, his next opponent will be Marco Fu or Ding Junhui. And should he make it through to the quarter-finals, his probable opponent is defending champion John Higgins.

Northern Ireland's other representative at the championship, which cues off on Saturday, April 19, is Joe Swail, whose first tournament success on the local scene came at the Ulster Open Classic in the old 147 Club in Ballymena.