Mark Allen: I checked out of mental health clinic to play snooker
Mark Allen: I checked out of mental health clinic to play snooker
Simon BriggsWed, October 21, 2026 at 11:20 AM UTC
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Mark Allen has opened up about his mental struggles - Action Images/Andrew Boyers
Former world No 1 Mark Allen has revealed the full extent of his mental turmoil after a video of an emotional post-match interview circulated on Tuesday.
In a message posted on X on Wednesday morning, Allen revealed that he had spent 10 weeks in a mental-health clinic before discharging himself to play in his home tournament: the Northern Ireland Open.
Having lost his first-round match 4-2 to friend and compatriot Jordan Brown on Tuesday, Allen gave a choked-up interview in which he admitted: “I just don’t see a future with snooker in it, if I’m honest.”
The roots of Allen’s malaise are not well understood, even within the close-knit world of snooker, but his comments make it clear that he has been struggling for some time.
“I’m not OK, but I’m OK in that itself,” said Allen in his post on X. “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 [in the mental-health clinic] were amazing and helped me through some really dark days
“I see the light now that I couldn’t see before but I do now. I also know it won’t happen overnight. I’m a work in progress!!! My fight and determination on the table has always been there for ones [everyone] to see. I need to show those same fighting qualities off it now for a while…
“I hope the rest of the event is a success and I will continue my treatments going forward and then see what’s ahead … I have so much to live for and this is only the beginning of my new journey.”
Allen had pulled out of seven straight events on the World Snooker Tour, citing personal reasons, before deciding to perform at the Waterfront Arena in Belfast on Tuesday.
Speaking to TNT Sports in the post-match interview that has made such a stir, Allen said: “I think if I wasn’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.”
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When TNT interviewer Rachel Casey followed up by asking if he was genuine about retirement, Allen replied: “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.
“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.”
Allen struggled to get his words out during the two-minute interview, while Casey – who handled the situation with great empathy – was also visibly affected by his grim mood, and embraced him warmly at the end of their conversation.
In a sporting sense, Allen suffered a huge blow at the Crucible in April, when he should have reached his first World Championship final but instead missed a match-ball black off the spot while leading eventual champion Wu Yize 16-15.
But the understanding around the circuit is that his issues are not primarily related to events on the table, or to that unfortunate miss.
It should be acknowledged, however, that snooker – a game that requires you to spend a great deal of time sitting in silence while your opponent takes his turn – is widely seen as one of the most mentally demanding sports.
In a separate interview with ITV after his defeat in Belfast, Allen – who is 40 – said: “I was having panic attacks all morning and all last night. But I’d been considering walking away from the sport for a while and I didn’t want my last match to be that semi-final in Sheffield.”
Now ranked at No 12 in the world, Allen stood atop the ladder for four months in the summer of 2024. He has played three World Championship semi-finals and won 12 ranking tournaments.
An often outspoken character who has been honest in the past about which players and tournaments he dislikes, Allen said on X that nine-year-old daughter Harleigh had been an inspiration during his dark days.
As he wrote: “I owed that [his appearance in Belfast] 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.”
Allen also has another daughter – Lauren – from a previous relationship with fellow snooker professional Reanne Evans, but he said in a recent interview that they are not in contact.
Source: “AOL Sports”
