Former world number one snooker player Mark Allen has given an emotional and tearful interview, which involved a hug from the presenter and the admission that he may give up the game.
Allen, 40, took a break from playing after losing a dramatic semifinal in April’s World Snooker Championship in April.
The Northern Irishman is understood to have taken time away from the game to deal with private matters, and it has cast doubt over the 40-year-old’s future in the sport.
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Allen returned to the table for the first time since the world championship semi, where he missed a match-ball black that would have sent him to the decider, with a 4-2 defeat in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open to good friend Jordan Brown.
After the defeat, Allen did an interview with TNT Sports presenter Rachel Casey, where he admitted he was strongly considering throwing away the game he loved.
“I’m in a bad place at the minute, so even just to go out there and try was tough,” Allen said.
“I think if I weren’t playing Jordan, I wouldn’t have come back.
“I felt like if I was going to play one last time, playing here at the Waterfront, where it all started in 2005, against one of my best mates — I thought that was a better way to sign out.”
Asked if he was genuinely considering retirement, the winner of 12 ranking tournaments said it was a real possibility.
“I’ve been flooded with support but the problems are within. I just don’t see a future with snooker in it, if I’m honest,” he said.
“It’s sad to say, because it’s all I’ve loved to do since I was 12, but the last few months has been really difficult, and it’s put snooker into perspective for me. At the minute, I’m just trying to survive.”
In a touching moment, the interview was paused as Casey gave a clearly distraught Allen a comforting hug.
Allen also gave an interview with BBC Sport NI, where he said he was not prepared to retire now, but he had contemplated it “for a while”.
Allen is a former world number one with 12 ranking titles in his career since turning professional in 2005.
He has won his home Northern Ireland Open twice, as well as two of the three Triple Crown events — Masters (2018) and the UK Championship (2022).
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Brown, who advances to the final 32 in Belfast with his win, described the match against his friend Allen as ” the hardest match I’ve ever had to deal with”.
“I don’t even know what to say, I’m lost for words,” he told Casey on TNT Sports.
“I’ve missed him, I love him. Just a great guy, through and through.”
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