Mark Allen has revealed that he could miss this month’s Northern Ireland Open.
The Antrim cueman, who won his home tournament back-to-back in 2021 and 2022, posted on X, formerly Twitter, to announce that he has pulled out of this week’s Wuhan Open due to a family illness but “hopes to be back playing come Belfast”.
Allen posted: “I’d like to pass on my apologies to World Snooker, the Chinese promoter, my sponsors and the Chinese fans but I have had to withdraw from the upcoming Wuhan Open due to a family illness.
“I hope to be back come Belfast but at this time I have to prioritise my family.”
The Northern Ireland Open, once again staged at the Waterfront Hall, gets under way on Sunday, October 20 with World No.3 Allen due to face Liu Hongyu in the evening session on day two.
Defending champion Judd Trump, who won the event for the fourth time last year, will begin his quest for another title against Indian No.1 Ishpreet Singh Chadha.
Selected NI Open first round fixtures
Sunday, October 20: Judd Trump vs Ishpreet Singh Chadha (1pm), Luca Brecel vs He Guoqiang (2pm), Mark Selby vs Louis Heathcote (7pm), Shaun Murphy vs Jiang Jun (8pm)
Monday, October 21: Neil Robertson vs Graeme Dott (1pm), Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Long Zehuang (2pm), Mark Allen vs Liu Hongyu (7pm), John Higgins vs Fan Zhengyi (8pm)
Tuesday, October 22: Kyren Wilson vs David Grace (1pm), Mark Williams vs Jamie Clarke (2pm)