TNT host praised for what she said to Mark Allen after he admitted his snooker career could be over

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, Allen spoke to TNT Sports presenter Rachel Casey about the result and his current emotions.

READ NEXT: Jordan Brown has touching moment with Mark Allen before their Northern Ireland Open match

'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."

Allen is unsure whether his snooker career is over (Image: TNT Sports)

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."

Reacting to the interview, one fan wrote on Twitter: "Full marks to Rachel Casey for handling the interview with such warmth and humanity."

"We don't deserve Rachel Casey sometimes. What an interview," a second said.

Another replied to TNT Sports' post, writing: "You have a gem. Her interviews with Mark Allen and Jordan Brown showed her compassion, her caring and her magnificence. Thanks Rachel for your sensitivity."

Jordan Brown reacts to Mark Allen win

Minutes after Allen's emotional interview, world number 65 Brown walked into the TNT studio for his post-match interview - having heard what his close friend had just said.

"There's more important things to life than snooker," he said. "That was easily the hardest match I've ever had to deal with. Even though Mark's going through it, I feel like I was going through it. Just to re-iterate what you said there, we're all behind him first and foremost.

"To see Mark back playing... I'm trying to get myself together here, but it's hard. It's hard seeing him like that. The first words I uttered to him was in the practice room before the match, and you could just tell he was sort of anxious about today.

"I don't even know what to say. I'm lost for words. I've missed him, I love him. A great guy, through and through. But as hard it was, I still had to concentrate on what I had to do today. That's what we're here to do, we're here to play snooker. In a selfish way, I had to sort of block all the distractions out."

Brown, who previously revealed that his mother had passed away in August after living with dementia for several years, added: "I'm not going through the easiest of times myself, but I'm trying to fight for tour survival and trying to get my game together. That's what I had to focus on today, as hard as it was. But I never want to go through something like that again."