Snooker star Mark Allen has received an outpouring of support after revealing he has been in a mental health clinic for ten weeks – a day after admitting his career could be over.

The former world No1 had been close to tears during an emotional interview after losing to Jordan Brown in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast on Tuesday. Explaining his absence from the sport, he told TNT Sports that he has been dealing with a lot of ‘problems within’ that mean he is ‘just trying to survive’.

And on Wednesday morning he released a lengthy statement elaborating on that interview.

‘Everything I said in that interview was true. However, rest assured I’m doing my best to turn things round,’ Allen wrote on social media. ‘I have been in a mental health clinic for the last 10 weeks, finally discharging so I could attempt to play in Belfast.’

‘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…

‘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 to see. I need to show those same fighting qualities off it now for a while.’

Mark Allen was a downcast figure as he admitted that he might have played his last match

The former World Championship semi-finalist brushed away a tear at the end of his interview and was consoled by TNT Sport’s Rachel Casey

Allen, known as The Pistol, has faced several challenges during a career which has seen him hit the heights of becoming world No1 and includes Masters and UK Championship title wins.

He has been open in the past about his lows as well, including financial problems and struggles with his weight.

In January 2021 he declared himself bankrupt – citing that he spent his £3.5million in career prize money as fast as he earned it.

‘I just overspent in every aspect of my life,’ he told BBC Sport in an interview in October 2022. ‘Bankruptcy was the only choice. It’s easy to read that I made £3.5m on the table, but I spent it as fast as it was coming in.

‘It was sad saying that given what I’ve made in the game and how well I’ve done. It’s embarrassing, but the priority now is to get my life in order.

‘If I could go back I would be more sensible with money. If there was a car available at £50,000 I bought one at £80,000. If there was a house available at £1,500 per month, I’d spend one at £2,500.’

Back in October 2016, Allen previously gave fans a breakdown of how quickly the money he won in the sport would be spent.

He published a note that said despite collecting £2million in earnings over 12 years, he was left with an average profit of just £6,500 each year because of taxes, expenses and bills.

Allen, who was declared bankrupt in January 2021, also divorced his ex-wife Kyla McGuigan in May 2020. They had been married for seven years and share a daughter called Harleigh

Allen’s financial situation was also affected by his divorce from his ex-wife Kyla McGuigan. The pair had been married for seven years and share a daughter, Harleigh, born in 2017.

‘You don’t put enough away for tax and everything just snowballs. All the legal stuff with the divorce, if you have to pay for lawyers and barristers, it all mounts up,’ he admitted to BBC Sport.

As well as Harleigh, Allen has a daughter with his former girlfriend Reanne Evans – another snooker star.

The duo, who have publicly feuded in the past, had a three-year relationship that ended in 2008.

The former couple were paired together in the British Open in August 2021 with then 12-time women’s world champion Evans refusing to touch hands with Allen as he approached her before the match began.

Evans refused Allen’s attempted fist bump before she broke for the first frame of this best-of-five grudge match, which Evans won.

‘It was horrible,’ admitted Allen about the occasion at the Morningside Arena in Leicester. ‘It was nothing I want to go through too often, but I had to remain as professional as possible.

‘I can hold my head high. I treated it like any other match and showed respect where respect was due. I thought Reanne played well. She was unlucky in frame four and at that point she would have deserved to win. She played much better than me.’

Allen also has has a daughter with former girlfriend and snooker star Reanne Evans from their three-year relationship which ended in 2008

The duo haven’t always seen eye-to-eye and that came to a head at the 2021 British Open 

As reported by Daily Mail Sport at the time, Evans’s actions were perhaps revenge for Allen’s antics at the World Championships in April. The Northern Irishman was practising in the same Crucible room as Evans was working as a BBC pundit.

It prompted Allen to complain that his ex was causing a distraction and demand her removal. Organisers controversially complied, leaving Evans upset.

That spat in Sheffield only highlighted tensions that have been simmering for years and have even ended up in court.

Allen was asked by Evans to increase his child maintenance for their daughter Lauren, having become unhappy with his previous payments of around £100 per month.

Allen is now a married man once more after tying the knot with Sara Herald last year. They are understood to have first dated in 2023.

As well as finding love again, the recent years have seen Allen embark on a fitness journey – with the remarkable results seeing him lose five stone.

That health kick came after speaking to snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan as well as a close friend. O’Sullivan’s advice prompted him to stop drinking alcohol, while his friend warned him that he may not see Harleigh get married in the future due to his lifestyle.

‘I’m happier in my appearance. I don’t want to do bad things to myself when I look in the mirror,’ he told The Sun in the midst of his weight-loss transition in September 2022.

The 40-year-old is now re-married having tied the knot with Sarah Herald last year

Allen has also gone through a healthier phase of living – losing five stone after changing habits

‘I need to lose more weight. I’m not fighting fit yet. Before I started my diet, I was 19.1 stone which is really embarrassing to say for someone of my height and age. I’m now 14st 10lbs.

‘I have cut out all the fun stuff. Even if I do eat bad food, I eat so little of it. I try to cut out carbs as much as possible. Stick to stuff high in protein and fat.

‘It has been hard work but I have been disciplined. I haven’t gone cold turkey like with previous diets.

‘One of my very closest friends said to me: “If you keep going the way you’re going Mark, you won’t be here to walk Harleigh down the aisle’. That was tough to hear but probably what I needed to hear.’

The former world No1 has been open about his latest challenge with Allen admitting he may have played the final match of his 21-year professional career.

‘I think if I wasn’t playing Jordan I wouldn’t have come back,’ Allen said. ‘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 that was a better way to sign out.

Allen played his first match since losing the World Championship semi-final to Wu Yize back in May

The Northern Irish star had missed a match winning black before going on to lose the semi-final

‘I’ve been flooded with support but the problems are within. I just don’t see a future with snooker in it, if I’m honest.

‘It’s sad to say, because it’s all 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.’

Allen was comforted by interviewer Rachel Casey after his emotional comments, as she reassured him that many of his friends within the sport would be happy to welcome him back with open arms whenever he wanted to return.

Footage of his interview, shared by TNT Sports, has been viewed over 2.7 million times alone with Allen’s candid comments receiving attention from far beyond the world of snooker.

Among those affected by the interview was his opponent Brown, who had embraced Allen after their match, and appeared emotional when he spoke to Casey moments after the interview.

‘It shows there are more important things in life than snooker, that was easily the hardest match I’ve ever had to deal with,’ Brown said.

‘I don’t even know what to say, I am lost for words Rachel. I’ve missed him, I love him, just such a great guy through and through.’

Brown had expressed his worry about his close friend and regular practice partner earlier this month, after revealing he had been ‘checking in on him’.

The 40-year-old’s last appearance had come at the World Snooker Championships in May, when Allen agonisingly missed out on reaching the final.

Allen missed a match-winning black in the penultimate frame of his semi-final against Wu Yize, with the Chinese player ultimately winning 17-16 after reeling off the final three frames of the match.

The Northern Irish star admitted post-match to have been ‘devastated to lose’ but sportingly congratulated Wu, who would go on to win the final and be crowned world champion for the first time.

Allen had stayed away from the tour since, citing personal reasons, which are understood not to relate to any repercussions from the manner of his defeat at the Crucible.

Concerns had been raised by snooker fans over Allen’s absence after he missed eight consecutive events, a run ended when he returned at the Northern Ireland Open, which he previously won in 2021 and 2022.

Allen has been praised by fans for his comments about his situation, after explaining that has been in a mental health clinic over the past 10 weeks and is trying to ‘turn things around’

Allen explained in his subsequent update that he felt he ‘owed it to everyone to speak’, with the star receiving support and praise from fans for his openness.

‘What a brilliant, measured and brutally honest statement. I have so much respect for such candour and virtue. Take care and get well soon, Mark,’ one fan responded.

‘Mark, you are legend of the game and very brave person. The night is darkest before the dawn, really hope you’ll feel better,’ a second replied.

Another fan added: ‘You may or may not realise it. But, you’ve probably done more for mental health awareness than any ad campaign ever has before.

‘This post alone shows how speaking out and seeking help in tough times, works. Thank you for sharing it and keep moving forward.’

Allen has thanked fans for their support and stated he is at the beginning of a ‘new journey’.

‘Thank you to every single message I have received’, Allen wrote. ‘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.’