Mark Allen: Antrim player back in action at UK Championship after missing Champion of Champions event
- Published
Mark Allen's success in the Northern Ireland Open last month was his sixth in a ranking event
Mark Allen will return to tournament action when he faces Irishman Michael Judge at the UK Championship in York on Thursday evening.
Allen did not defend the Champion of Champions title last week for what he described as "personal reasons".
The 35-year-old declared himself bankrupt in May and has spoken of being unsure whether he can continue to play the sport.
But on Wednesday night he tweeted: "I'm playing tomorrow. Can't wait."
Allen won last month's Northern Ireland Open in Belfast, beating John Higgins 9-8 in the final but then suffered an early exit at the English Open before opting out of the Champion of Champions event in Bolton.
The Northern Irishman indicated after his dramatic final-frame victory over Higgins in Belfast that he was "unsure if he would get any" of his £70,000 prize money for winning the event.
He did not go into the specifics about why he might have to walk away from the sport, but he has spoken in the past about coping with mental health issues, external and of undergoing divorce proceedings, external from wife Kyla.
Allen has also been involved in a dispute with his former partner Reanne Evans, the record 12-times world women's snooker champion, over maintenance payments for the couple's daughter.
After losing to Mark Selby in the second round of the World Championship in April, Allen hinted at taking time away from the sport because of his personal off-table difficulties but bounced back to clinch the sixth ranking event title of his career in his native country.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene progressed to the second round in York on Wednesday night by beating Norway's Kurt Maflin 6-3.
