Mark Allen reveals how ‘good guy’ Ronnie O’Sullivan has helped him over the last three years off the snooker table

Mark Allen has revealed Ronnie O’Sullivan was one of the first people to message him when he went through a divorce and says the seven-time world champion is a “good guy off the table”.

Allen split with his wife in 2020 and struggled in the months following, declaring himself bankrupt in 2021.

The weight loss has helped spark a huge improvement in Allen’s game and he has been the player of the season so far.

“I know I’ve had a few run ins with Ronnie over the years on the table, but away from the cameras and one on one he has always been really good to me,” Allen told World Snooker Tour.

“Any time I’ve asked for something, he’s given me his time. When I left my marriage, he was one of the first players to message me and say to ring if I needed him.

“That speaks more to me about who he is as a person than how he behaves when the cameras are on. I think sometimes he plays up, to get people talking.

“I wasn’t surprised that the conversation happened. We sat in his room talking for 45 minutes to an hour discussing all kinds of different things.

“It wasn’t all snooker related, there was lots about life in general. It was great for him to give me time, especially as he was pushing for the seventh world title. He was doing his documentary as well and none of those cameras were there, which meant we were able to properly chat. He is a good guy off the table.”

The weight loss, plus the return to a positive lifestyle and personal life, has helped Allen on the table.

He goes into next week’s Masters, which begins on January 8, as one of the favourites and feels he now realises the importance of having the right balance when not at the baize.

“I’d 100 percent say I’ve been too dismissive of these things in the past,” he continued. “I was maybe a little overconfident in my ability on the table. It is not always about that. Sometimes it is about looking at the parts away from snooker, which I have disregarded.

“I won’t be making that mistake again, because the game has moved on. The standard is so good and you need to find that bit extra to separate yourself from the rest.

“The guys that are competing to win things have been doing stuff away from the table to keep themselves in shape. That is what I’m looking into now.”

Allen has used sport psychologist Paul Gaffney to help him recently too and revealed the use of setting targets has changed his mindset.

“On the psychological side, it is interesting because I’ve never been one to set goals,” the 36-year-old continued.

“Of course I want to be world champion, everyone in snooker has ambitions like that. I never put it on a pedestal though. Paul has tried to prioritise things more. He does want me to have goals. Things have definitely changed mentally in terms of what I want to do and how I want to get there.

“I was always pretty strong mentally, but he has taken me to the next level. It is alright to come from behind to win matches every now and then, but to do it consistently you need to be very mentally strong. I showed that at the UK Championship.”

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