Mark Allen reveals Ronnie O’Sullivan chat has led to four stone weight loss

Mark Allen has lost almost four stone after a lot of hard work over the summer and plans to lose more weight as his dieting continues, which all stemmed from a chat with Ronnie O’Sullivan in Sheffield.

The Pistol has been on a strict diet since May and has seen excellent results, shedding a huge amount of weight and feeling much better for it.

The world number 14 wants to keep going in the same direction and is aiming to lose another two stone by the British Open next month.

While it was something he was aware he needed to do beforehand, it was a conversation with O’Sullivan after their World Championship match in April that helped kick Allen into action.

The Rocket beat the Pistol 13-4 in the second round in Sheffield, but far from just shaking hands and going their separate ways, they had a lengthy chat back at the hotel and it has helped Allen with his impressive weight loss over a long summer, which saw him take 11 weeks off playing snooker.

‘I had a good chat with O’Sullivan after we played in Sheffield,’ Allen told Metro.co.uk. ‘I sat in his hotel room for about an hour, talking about snooker and all sorts of things, he really helped me, it was good.

‘He gave me a few pointers. For my health more than anything just to lose some weight, if it helps your snooker so be it, but if it doesn’t it will help your mindset off the table, you’ll be better round your family, round your daughter and he was absolutely right.

‘I feel like that has changed my priorities over the summer and maybe why I took such a long break.

‘Everything he said has stood me in good stead and I’ve been working hard on it, and hopefully it’ll reap rewards on the table as well.’

It may be something of a surprise that O’Sullivan and Allen were chatting away