Mark Allen has revealed that he spent 10 weeks at a mental health clinic before returning to snooker as he opened up further on his personal struggles in a candid post on social media.
Allen gave an emotional interview to TNT Sports following his 4-2 first-round defeat by close friend Jordan Brown at the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast on Tuesday, in which he said he was in a “bad place at the minute” and “just trying to survive”.
The 40-year-old admitted he was contemplating retirement and did not “see a future with snooker in it” following his first match since an agonising defeat by Wu Yize at the Crucible in May, in which a costly miss on the black in a dramatic final frame saw him denied a place in a first-ever World Championship final.
Allen has now provided a further update to fans via a post on X, explaining that he had discharged himself from a mental health clinic in order to play at his home tournament this week.
Allen said he was “not ok” but had improved on recent months and could now “see the light” as he continues his recovery.
“Everything I said in that interview was true,” Allen wrote. “However, rest assured I’m doing my best to turn things round.
“I have been in a mental health clinic for the last 10 weeks, finally discharging so I could attempt to play in Belfast.
“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 also owed that to World Snooker who have been amazing from day on in all this, in particular Simon Brownell and Neil Tomkins who have remained in touch regularly, even Simon paying me a visit in the clinic itself.
“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…..
“My daughter kept me going, the therapists, staff and all the other patients 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 to see. I need to show those same fighting qualities off it now for a while.
“Please don’t detract anything from Jordan yesterday, he’s been aware of my struggles and that can’t have been easy to play in but he handled it with grace and skill as I knew he would. Im proud to call him a friend
“I hope the rest of the event is a success and I will continue my treatments going forward and then see what’s ahead
“Thank you to every single message I have received on here, instagram, Facebook, text messages and WhatsApp’s, I’ve seen them all but a bit overwhelmed to reply right now.
“Just know that they have helped me a lot but I’m not going anywhere just yet!!!! I have so much to live for and this is only the beginning of my new journey
“Also, I was not made to do any interviews, I was simply given a choice and felt I owed it to everyone to speak. The media team at WST have been incredible through all this too Thank you all x”