Mark Allen & Reanne Evans: Former partners drawn together in British Open
Former partners Mark Allen and Reanne Evans will face each other for the first time as professionals at the British Open on Monday.
Twelve-time women’s world champion Evans has earned a two-year tour card this season to turn professional.
The 35-year-old was made an MBE in 2020 for her services to women’s snooker.
There is no seeding in the tournament at which Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy have been drawn together in a repeat of this year’s World Championship final.
The British Open will be Evans’ second tournament of the season after competing in July’s Championship League.
The tournament comes four months after Allen, also 35, requested that Evans be removed from a television studio at the World Championships, where she was working as a BBC pundit.
Allen was reported to have said he did not want her to be in a TV studio where a practice table was situated.
In April, Allen said he was taking a “break” from the game to address personal issues.
“There’s numerous things going on off the table which I’d rather not talk about,” said the Northern Irishman following his 13-7 World Championship second-round defeat by Selby, who went on to win the title.
“It’s hard playing snooker at the best of times when you are competing against the very best in the world with a clear head. At the minute, I just don’t have that.”
Evans’ addition to the professional tour, alongside Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee, was described as a “huge moment for women in snooker” by World Women’s Snooker president Mandy Fisher.
Allen and Evans’ match begins at 19:00 BST. The British Open takes place in Leicester with the final on 22 August.
