“I’m going to be honest and say it’s not as big a target as it was before I got there. I don’t feel like I got as much attention for being world number one as I thought I would.”

Winning a first World Championship title is the ultimate ambition for Allen, who will start his bid for a third Northern Ireland Open title in four years on Monday against China’s Liu Hongyu.

A Crucible triumph would be the highlight of a career which has already included success at the Masters, UK Championship and Champion of Champions.

“The ultimate goal is to be world champion. That’s the only thing that would raise my CV to the next level. I want to win every tournament that I play in, that’s why I practice so hard all year round.

“But, ultimately, your career is going to be looked back on to see, ‘did I win a world championship? How many did you win? Did you win triple crown events?’. That’s something I need to improve on. That’s the be all and end all for me.”

Allen admits that he would be disappointed if he didn’t land the sport’s biggest prize.

“I’ve won 20 tournaments as a professional and I’m in my 19th year. I’ve been to world number one and I’ve won every other tournament the game has to offer, really. I’d be very disappointed if I didn’t cross that off my list.

“It’s tough – you only get one chance a year and I know how hard it is. It’s no surprise that you see so many multiple winners and not many one-time winners. It’s up to me to break my own duck.

“As long as I feel like I have a chance of winning it then I’ll keep coming back for more.”