Mark Allen says he may have played his final competitive snooker match after losing 4-2 to Jordan Brown at the Northern Ireland Open - stating that 'the last few months' have put the sport 'into perspective'.

Allen returned to snooker at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast after missing the entirety of the 2026/27 season to date due to personal reasons.

He won the first frame against Brown, his close friend and fellow Northern Ireland native, and levelled the scores at 2-2 on the final black before Brown won the final two frames. After the match, he spoke to TNT Sports presenter Rachel Casey about the result and his current emotions.

'Really overwhelmed...' - Mark Allen on return to snooker

"Not good, if I'm honest," Allen said, when asked by Casey about how he felt returning to the baize. "Really overwhelmed. I'm in a bad place at the minute, so I think just to go out there, try, was tough.

"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 there was no better way to sign out."

When asked if he was genuinely thinking about 'signing out' from snooker, Allen simply replied: "Yep."

"I've been flooded with support, but problems are within," he added. "I just don't see a future in snooker, if I'm honest. It's sad to say, because it's what I've loved to do since I was 12, but the last few months have been really difficult and it's put snooker into perspective for me. At the minute, I'm just trying to survive."

Casey, who was also full of emotion, put her arm on Allen's shoulder and said that 'it is so good to see you' before embracing the world number 12.

"I know it's so hard. So, so hard to see," she told him. "But listen, there is always a road back. You have so many friends, there are so many people there for you. And I really want you to know that. Everyone is behind you, Mark. Always.

"We wish you all the best, and I'm sure everyone at home will have been delighted to see Mark Allen here. Hometown hero, twice a champion in Northern Ireland, and we all wish him the very best. Let's hope this is not the end for Mark Allen."

More to follow...