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Mark Allen will finally return to competitive snooker for the first time in nearly six months at the Northern Ireland Open, which starts on Sunday. The three-time Crucible semi-finalist hasn't played since the World Snooker Championship in May, where he was dumped out in the last four by eventual winner Wu Yize. Allen has been on an extended break from the sport in the months since, withdrawing from a number of tournaments for 'personal reasons'.
The exact nature of Allen's problems have not been publicly revealed, but after missing a huge chunk of the season, it seems he is finally ready to play again.
He was drawn against his close friend, Jordan Brown, in the opening round of the Northern Ireland Open and has since confirmed that he will fulfil that fixture.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he posted a video of himself relaxing in his hot tub alongside the caption: "Home for a day before flying away again tomorrow."
Home for a day before flying away again tomorrow ❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/pjerNVUPxO
— Mark Allen (@pistol147) October 17, 2026
It comes just days after Allen shared a cryptic three-word message, simply saying: "Is it time?" in a short clip of him watching The Office actor Ricky Gervais doing stand-up comedy.
Brown recently said that he hoped Allen would be ready to face him in Belfast, revealing that he had been speaking to his close friend behind the scenes.
Speaking to Metro, Brown said: "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.
"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."
Allen has enjoyed some of his finest moments in Northern Ireland, securing a memorable 147 break against Si Jiahui on his way to winning the tournament five years ago.
He went on to defend the Alex Higgins Trophy a year later and will be hoping to prevail in Belfast for a third time over the coming days.
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