A despondent Mark Allen admitted he hopes he doesn’t qualify for the upcoming Players Championship after crashing out of a big snooker tournament. Allen won the Players Championship in 2024 but 12 months on, his game is in a very different place.

After suffering a crushing defeat to Jimmy Robertson at the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, which saw him surrender a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2, the Northern Irishman admitted his “confidence is on the floor”. Taking to X, he attempted to make light of his faltering form, posting: “If I could find a safety game, a few long pots and cut out the silly easy losses I’d maybe win a game or two [laughing face emojis] confidence is on the floor. Roll on next season. Worlds next for me.”

The World Championship at the Crucible doesn’t start until April 19, with the Players Championship beginning on March 17. When a fan asked about his potential involvement in the Telford tournament, Allen incredibly replied: “I honestly hope I don’t qualify.”

The Players Championship is reserved for the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list. While Allen is in at present, his place is not secure. It could be taken by his conqueror in Hong Kong, Robertson, who will move into the top 16 if he makes the final.

Breaks of 50 and 63 gave Allen the first two frames, but Robertson then dominated by taking four in a row with top runs of 65, 68 and 50 as he set up a last-16 tie with Mark Selby on Thursday evening. Selby edged past Jackson Page 4-3.

Meanwhile, Jack Lisowski has withdrawn from the tournament for personal reasons. Lisowski beat Zhang Anda in the first round and was scheduled to face Judd Trump on Thursday afternoon. The world No.1 has now received a bye into the quarter-finals.

Later on Wednesday, Xu Si pulled off a shock 4-3 win over world number nine Ding Junhui. Xu goes on to play Hossein Vafaei – a replacement for Ronnie O’Sullivan, who had not taken part for medical reasons – after the Iranian beat Si Jiahui in a last-frame decider. It is the seventh ranking tournament from which O’Sullivan has pulled out this season.

A statement from the WST read: “Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of next week’s World Grand Prix in Hong Kong for medical reasons. O’Sullivan was due to face Si Jiahui in the opening round on Wednesday.

“Instead he will be replaced by the next player in line, Hossein Vafaei who is 33rd in the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year Rankings. Vafaei will replace O’Sullivan directly in the draw and will play Si.”