Jordan Brown shared a warm embrace with Mark Allen ahead of his close friend's return to snooker after a near four-month absence at the Northern Ireland Open.

The pair's first round match is Allen's first competitive match since he lost to Wu Yize in the semi-final of the World Snooker Championship back in April. He has not played at all since the 2026/27 season began in June due to personal reasons.

But the Northern Irishman, who is still ranked comfortably inside the top 16 in 12th despite his absence, has chosen his home country to mark what is an extremely popular comeback to snooker - and Brown made sure he recognised it before the first break-off in Belfast.

Jordan Brown praised for Mark Allen gesture

As the pair walked into the arena at the Waterfront Hall, Allen was well-received by the crowd in attendance. His opponent is strongly supported in Northern Ireland too, with the Antrim native having won back-to-back Northern Ireland Amateur Championship titles before joining the main World Snooker Tour.

The two players shook his hands but, once he had taken his cue out of its holder, Brown walked back over towards Allen and gave him a warm embrace - which resulted in another burst of applause from the spectators.

There had been question marks over whether Allen would pull out of the Northern Ireland Open, but a series of posts to Twitter at the end of last week appeared to indicate that he would indeed be playing his first match since April.

Allen took the first frame, before world number 65 Brown - the winner of the 2021 Welsh Open - won frames two and three to go 2-1 ahead in a race to four. Allen then prevailed in a gritty frame four on the final black to level the scores at 2-2.

Jordan Brown addresses Mark Allen return

Brown, who is a long-time practice partner and close friend of Allen, spoke about his compatriot's potential return to snooker earlier this month, telling Metro that he was 'doing okay'.

"Personally, I miss him. I worry about him, because he's one of my best friends," he said. "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's doing okay."

Ahead of taking to the arena in Belfast on Tuesday, Brown said: "It's great to see him back playing. But let's let battle commence - I've got a job to do."

The Northern Ireland Open carries particular importance this week as it is the last qualifying event for the 2026 Champion of Champions, which is held in Leicester next month and has a total prize pot of £440,000.

Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Zhao Xintong are among the players already qualified for the prestigious event, while Ronnie O'Sullivan is also in by virtue of winning the World Seniors Championship in May.