Mark Allen has revealed he spent 10 weeks in a mental health clinic before discharging himself to play in this week’s Northern Ireland Open. In a long statement posted on X, the 40-year-old said he was “not OK” but vowed to show his renowned “fighting qualities” as he continues his recovery. Allen’s 4-2 defeat by his friend and compatriot Jordan Brown on Tuesday was his first match since his world championship semi-final loss to Wu Yize in April, when he missed a black off its spot that would have given him the win.
After losing to Brown, Allen conducted an emotional interview with TNT Sports in which he said he was “really overwhelmed”, and suggested his career could be over. He wrote on Wednesday: “Everything I said in that interview was true. However, rest assured I’m doing my best to turn things round.
I owed that to my family, in particular my daughter to see me play for what could be the last time … I also owed it to the fans who have supported me throughout my 21 years on tour. I’ve been much worse in the last few months than you saw yesterday. I literally didn’t see a future in anything.
My daughter kept me going, the therapists, staff and all the other patients were amazing and helped me through some really dark days. I also know it won’t happen overnight. My fight and determination on the table has always been there for ones to see.
I need to show those same fighting qualities off it now for a while. I’m proud to call him a friend. Allen has won both UK and Masters titles in a total of 12 ranking tournament wins, and has reached the world championship semi-finals three times.
He was ranked world No 1 for four months in 2024.
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