Mark Allen reveals 10 weeks in mental health clinic after Northern Ireland Open return

Former snooker world No.1 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 Belfast, his first event in nearly six months (Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/sports/allen-reveals-mental-health-clinic-stay-before-return-considers-retirement-2026-10-21/).

The 40-year-old, ranked world No.1 in 2024, lost 4-2 to his friend Jordan Brown on Tuesday — Brown’s first career win over him — before giving an emotional TNT Sports interview in which he suggested his career could be over: “I just don’t see a future with snooker in it if I’m honest… At the minute, I’m just trying to survive” (Reuters; TNT Sports, https://www.tntsports.co.uk/snooker/betvictor-northern-ireland-open/2026/mark-allen-statement-interview-follow-up_sto23347738/story.shtml).

In a statement posted on X (@pistol147) on Wednesday, Allen wrote: “I have been in a mental health clinic for the last 10 weeks, finally discharging so I could attempt to play in Belfast… I’m not OK, but I’m OK in that itself. I’ve been much worse in the last few months than you saw yesterday. I literally didn’t see a future in anything” (Reuters; The Times, https://www.thetimes.com/sport/snooker/article/snooker-star-mark-allen-spent-ten-weeks-in-mental-health-clinic-7czm9f08h).

Allen credited his daughter, therapists, staff and fellow patients with helping him through “some really dark days”, and thanked World Snooker — in particular Simon Brownell, who visited him in the clinic, and Neil Tomkins (The Times; The Gazette, https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/sport/national/26656499.not-ok---mark-allen-reveals-10-week-mental-health-clinic-stay-ni-open/).

His absence followed a World Championship semi-final loss to Wu Yize, in which he missed a match-winning black; he said he did not want that semi-final at the Crucible to be his last match (Reuters).