Mark Allen has returned to action for the first time since the World Championship in May, but his comeback ended in a 4-2 defeat to Jordan Brown at the Northern Ireland Open.
Allen’s last professional match was the Crucible semi-final defeat to Wu Yize, which ended in painful circumstances.
The Pistol had a routine black to win the match 17-15 but sent it wide, allowing Wu to take the match to a decider, which the Chinese star won, booking his place in the final with an epic 17-16 victory.
The 40-year-old has not played since, missing a string of big events including the Shanghai Masters, China Open, Wuhan Open, British Open and Shenzhen Open. He also opted out of the English Open, where he would have been defending champion.
While that loss in Sheffield would have stung, there is no real suggestion that his prolonged absence since has been down to that match.
Allen has been away due to personal reasons and has kept those reasons close to his chest, as he is perfectly entitled to do.
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He returned to the table on home soil in Northern Ireland against close pal Jordan Brown, with the players sharing a warm hug before the match began.
It was not a classic encounter in terms of quality, with both players struggling to find any sort of form or fluency.
Having been away from tournament snooker for months, it was little surprise that Allen was not at his best, while Brown is scrapping to stay on the professional tour this season, so the stakes were high and the atmosphere was quite tense.
The former Welsh Open champion got over the line though and booked his spot in the last 32, where he will play Michael Holt.
Worryingly for Allen, he missed a very straightforward black to the left corner in the final frame, which Neal Foulds on commentary described as ‘the miss of the week.’
Brown spoke to TNT Sports ahead of the game, saying: ‘Obviously Mark’s got his issues off the table, I wish him well and it’s great to see him back playing.
‘But let’s let battle commence. I’ve got a job to do.’
Earlier this month, Brown admitted that he wasn’t sure whether he would actually play his good pal and practice partner or get a bye.
‘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 told 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.’