Mark Allen: Defending champion withdraws from Champion of Champions for 'personal reasons'
- Published
Mark Allen's success in the Northern Ireland Open last month was his sixth in a ranking event
Defending champion Mark Allen has withdrawn from the forthcoming Champion of Champions tournament for "personal reasons".
Allen was due to defend his invitational title at this year's tournament, which will run from 15-21 November at the Bolton Whites Hotel.
The 35-year-old won last month's Northern Ireland Open in Belfast, beating John Higgins 9-8 in the final.
"Gutted to be missing one of my favourite events," said Allen.
"Apologies to anyone who was coming to see me, good luck to all involved," he added.
The Northern Irishman indicated after his dramatic final-frame victory over Higgins that he was "unsure if he would get any" of his £70,000 prize money for winning the event.
Allen declared himself bankrupt in May and has said he is unsure if he will be able to continue playing the sport.
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 is also locked 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.
Following Allen's withdrawal from the Champion of Champions, China's Ding Junhui has been invited to the tournament as the third player to earn his place from the World Snooker Tour World Rankings, following Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Maguire.
The final place in the event will be taken up by the winner of the English Open, which is currently being staged in Milton Keynes.
Allen lost 4-1 to Luca Brecel in the first round of that competition on Monday.
The Antrim man defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump on his way to his Champion of Champions triumph, before seeing off Neil Robertson 10-6 in the final.