Mark Allen Withdraws from British and English Opens

Mark Allen, the Northern Irish snooker player and reigning English Open champion, has announced he will miss both the British Open and English Open tournaments for personal reasons, as confirmed by the World Snooker Tour.

This decision adds to Allen's recent absence from several events, including the Championship League, China Open, Wuhan Open, and the Shanghai Masters, a non-ranking tournament. His withdrawal means he has now missed the first five ranking events of the current season.

Allen's last competitive appearance was at the World Championship in Sheffield in May, where he reached the semi-finals but lost to Wu Yize in a closely contested match. He had been set to compete against Wang Xinbo in the first round of the British Open and Sam Craigie in the English Open.

The British Open is scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 6 in Cheltenham, followed by the English Open from September 7 to 13. Allen's absence will be notable, as he will not have the opportunity to defend his title at the English Open, which he won last year.