Former world No1 Mark Allen star slams World Snooker Tour for ‘poor coverage’ and ‘having their favourites’
MARK ALLEN has taken a swipe at the World Snooker Tour for giving him “poor coverage” during his time as world No1.
Allen, 38, topped the rankings in May and kept top spot until August when he was dethroned by Judd Trump.
The Northern Irishman has now claimed that his three-month stint at the peak of the sport was “anti-climactic”, suggesting that the World Snooker Tour have “favourites”.
He told the BBC: “It was a bit anti-climactic. It wasn’t really enjoyable if I’m honest.
“I feel like I got very poor coverage from the governing body and I didn’t get a lot of coverage here [in Northern Ireland].
“Even turning up at events I wasn’t on the main table all the time.
“Ultimately, if you keep winning matches and keep winning tournaments then that takes care of itself.
“It was a bit of a come down, really. I just feel like World Snooker have their favourites and that’s it.”
The World Snooker Tour have denied allegations that they prioritise certain players, clapping back at Allen in a statement of their own.
They said: “We feel that we covered Mark’s rise to world No1 positively – at the start of the season we sent a crew to Antrim to interview him about this achievement.
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“We don’t prioritise specific players, we give them all an equal opportunity to promote the sport and entertain fans.”
Allen is still keen to return to top spot, but admitted that his desire has dwindled somewhat since his treatment last time he achieved the goal.
He added: “I didn’t stay there long thanks to Judd – he has been winning everything lately.
“I want to keep enjoying my snooker, keep winning matches and hopefully I’ll get back there soon.
“I’m going to be honest and say it’s not as big a target as it was before I got there.
“I don’t feel like I got as much attention for being world No1 as I thought I would.”