Former World No.1 Mark Allen has not played a competitive match since May and one of his friends has provided an update
Snooker star Jordan Brown has offered an update on Mark Allen, admitting that he ‘worries’ about his compatriot, who has not played a competitive match since the start of May. Allen reached the semi-final of the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre, where he lost to champion Wu Yize.
Since then, Allen has not featured in a competitive match and has been absent from several major events on the World Snooker Tour, including the English Open, British Open, Wuhan Open and China Open.
Allen’s absences from the tournaments have been put down to personal reasons, although the details as to surrounding this have not been disclosed.
This month sees the Tour return with the Northern Ireland Open, where Brown will be taking part in his event. However, the 38-year-old has admitted that he is unsure if Allen will make an appearance in the tournament.
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“I can’t really comment too much on it, but all I do know is he is doing okay. I’ve been checking in on him,” Brown said in an interview with Metro.
“I honestly don’t know if he’s going to play or not. If he does play it will be great for the local crowd. It’ll be great to see him back playing, we all want to see him back.
“Personally I miss him. I worry about him because he’s one of my best friends. We all hope to see him back soon and playing the game that he loves because he’s a great player and a great guy.
“The main thing is he is doing okay. He obviously has things to sort out so we all hope he’ll be back at the table soon.”
Earlier this year, Allen issued a statement explaining his decision to withdraw from the China Open and the Wuhan Open.
“I am gutted to miss these two events in China and my apologies to the fans and promoters in Taiyuan and Wuhan,” the former World No.1 said.
“I love playing in China and appreciate the support we always get there, but there are personal reasons why I can’t make it this time. I hope to be back playing in China later this season.”