Mark Allen offers update after snooker star was forced to declare himself bankrupt

Mark Allen has confirmed that he has fully recovered from the crippling financial problems which forced him into bankruptcy three years ago. Allen has made nearly £5million in prize money throughout his career but has been forced to deal with his fair share of problems away from the snooker table.

The 38-year-old's lowest point came in 2021, when he declared himself bankrupt after landing in financial trouble. Things are looking much better now, though, with Allen back on the right path after turning his fortunes around.

In an interview with Sports Boom, he spoke of his delight that he can now play snooker without any unwanted distractions after overcoming his financial difficulties.

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"Things are going really well," said Allen. "My private life is good and financially I’m in a better place than I was, just even from a mental side of things, I’m just looking forward to playing more than I was.

"As much as I love the game, it was tough coming to the club when everything was going on. I don’t have that distraction anymore, so I can just enjoy going to the club and playing."

Allen spoke candidly about his financial difficulties in 2022, admitting that he found himself unable to keep up with the lavish lifestyle he had been living. He also went through an expensive divorce, splitting from his former wife Kyla McGuigan in 2020 after seven years of marriage.

"I just overspent in every aspect of my life," Allen told the BBC. "Bankruptcy was the only choice. It's easy to read that I made £3.5m on the table, but I spent it as fast it was coming in. It was sad saying that given what I've made in the game and how well I've done.

"It's embarrassing, but the priority now is to get my life in order. I didn't put any aside for a rainy day and if I was having a bad season I was still spending as if I was having a good season. You don't put enough away for tax and everything just snowballs. All the legal stuff with the divorce, if you have to pay for lawyers and barristers, it all mounts up.

"If I could go back I would be more sensible with money. If there was a car available at £50,000 I bought one at £80,000. If there was a house available at £1,500 per month, I'd spend one at £2,500. Everything just snowballed.

"I'm currently in rented accommodation. It's a bit embarrassing to say as number 10 in the world. I'm on guaranteed earnings going forward now and that takes away the risk of having a good season or bad."