Relieved Mark Allen stressed he was the ultimate winner despite being knocked out at the first hurdle of the Masters.
The Belfast native arrived just ten minutes before his first-round showdown with Judd Trump after a court hearing prior to the match.
Allen endured a turbulent two years off the table as he was declared bankrupt, with eye-watering debts of £1.1million and a staggering £570,000 tax bill, underwent divorce proceedings and maintenance disputes from a previous relationship.
But issues which threatened his future in the sport and access to daughter Harleigh are thankfully firmly behind the world No 13 after a successful month off the table.
“I had a court hearing this morning which probably wasn’t ideal prep,” admitted Allen, who lost 6-5 in a dramatic decider.
“I finished it at half past 12 and had to drive quickly to the venue. But it couldn’t have gone any better.
“I was in such a good mood during that match because win or lose I definitely won because of what happened this morning.
“Today was about my daughter and access to her. I provided all the evidence I had to and got everything I wanted from the judge.
“It was a really good morning for me, I was so happy. Win or lose, that wasn’t important to me.”
Winning the Champion of Champions and a special Northern Ireland Open triumph highlighted the left-hander’s mental toughness with personal problems boiling over in the background.
“The issues I was worried about regarding my future in the sport is gone now, all gone,” revealed Allen.
“That’s what December was about. I was under so much from the trustee given my bankruptcy that I might not be able to play snooker going forward.
“It wasn’t so much that he would tell me not to play. But it was the fact I would be playing just to pay him and I wasn’t prepared to do that.
“It could have been potentially two-and-a-half-years to pay him, but that’s all sorted now.”
Trump dazzled with three century breaks, including a tournament highest break of 135, as well of runs of 88 and 62 to win his first match at the event since winning it in 2019.
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