Mark Allen: World number three says he’ll ‘never change’ after ‘table should be burned’ comment

Allen said he is hopeful of playing in his home event at the Norther Ireland Open after withdrawing from the Wuhan Open.

He pulled out because his mother was unwell and says “touch wood” he will be able to start his bid for a third title in four years on Monday against China’s Liu Hongyu.

“My mum hasn’t been well the past few weeks but things have been better in the last few days,” said the 19-time ranking title winner, who exited last year’s Northern Ireland Open at the last-64 stage.

“As far as she’s concerned I’ll be there to give it my best.

“It would be nice to go there and, not win for her because I want to win for myself, but it would be nice to give her something to watch at night time and keep her happy.”

Allen also admitted the Northern Ireland Open used to be a “strange tournament” for him as he tried to deal with the pressure of being the home favourite, saying he “never really enjoyed it”.

He had failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals before turning his fortunes around with back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.

Allen went as far as saying his final-frame decider over John Higgins to lift the trophy for the first time is the “favourite match of my career”.

“I made a conscious decision three or four years ago to treat it like any other tournament,” he said.

“I stayed in a hotel in Belfast, stayed away from the club and stayed away from everyone getting involved in trying to get tickets and things like that.

“That really helped me. I go with a lot less pressure now and I don’t have anything to prove to anyone.

“It would be really special if I could win it three out of four years.”