World number 13 Mark Allen will miss the British Open and English Open tournaments for personal reasons, the World Snooker Tour has confirmed. This extends his absence from the professional circuit, having already sat out the Championship League, China Open, Wuhan Open, and Shanghai Masters.
Allen's decision means he will miss the first five ranking events of the current season. As the reigning English Open champion, he will not be defending the title he secured last year in Brentwood.
His last competitive appearance was in May at the World Championship in Sheffield, where he lost a semi-final match 17-16 to eventual champion Wu Yize. Allen had been scheduled to play Wang Xinbo in the British Open and Sam Craigie in the English Open.
The British Open is set to run from 31 August to 6 September in Cheltenham, followed by the English Open from 7 to 13 September.