Mark Allen Admits Darts Jealousy as He Reveals How Snooker Could Bridge the Gap

Former world number one Mark Allen launched his 2026 Masters campaign in emphatic fashion with a superb 6–2 victory over last year’s world championship runner-up Mark Williams at Alexandra Palace.

While Allen was understandably pleased with his performance, it was the iconic London venue itself that dominated his thoughts in his post-match reflections, as he hailed the Masters as the standout event on the snooker calendar.

‘The best event we play all year’

Alexandra Palace is the largest arena used regularly on the UK snooker circuit, and Allen believes it sets the benchmark for how elite events should look and feel.

“I really enjoy it here [Alexandra Palace]. I think what they’ve done in recent years, changing things out there in the arena. I know it’s a better set, bigger crowd, the hospitality,” Allen told SportsBoom.co.uk.

“I think this is the best event we play in all year. I hate saying that because I love the Waterfront in Belfast, obviously."

“But I think this is the best event we play, and the other events just have to catch up a little bit.”

Comparing snooker to darts at Ally Pally

The 2018 Masters champion then drew a stark comparison between snooker and the PDC World Darts Championship, which is also staged at Alexandra Palace.

The 2025/26 darts tournament was completely sold out and will move to the venue’s larger Great Hall from 2026/27, boosting overall capacity to around 180,000 across the event, with individual sessions welcoming more than 5,000 fans. By contrast, the Masters currently has a total tournament capacity of just over 33,000.

Allen admits it is hard not to feel envious of darts’ explosive growth.

‘It does make us a little bit jealous’

“It does make us a little bit jealous, let’s be honest. Ally Pally for the darts, it looks nuts,” Allen added. 

“Credit to the team at WST, they’re doing a really good hob at trying to make these bigger and better by adding more and more seats, it adds to the atmosphere."

“It’s definitely going in the right direction. Is it going as quick as some of the players would have liked? Probably not. But it’s not through the lack of trying.”

Comparisons between darts and snooker are inevitable given their shared ties with Matchroom Sport and Barry Hearn, who owns majority stakes in both the World Snooker Tour and the Professional Darts Corporation.

Belfast shows the gap between the sports

A keen darts fan, Allen regularly attends PDC events when they come to Belfast, and believes the contrast at his home venues underlines the challenge snooker faces.

The 2025 Northern Ireland Open final at the Waterfront attracted 1,435 spectators, the largest attendance at a UK snooker event outside the Masters. 

Meanwhile, Premier League darts at Belfast’s SSE Arena drew more than 11,000 fans.

Despite admitting his envy, Allen is unsure whether snooker would truly thrive in such vast arenas.

‘Snooker is not tailor made for that’

"I go to the darts myself whenever it’s in Belfast, and that’s the type of arenas that we would love to play. But I’m not quite sure snooker is tailor made for that type of event, maybe the arenas are too big."

“You wouldn’t really see [the action] if there was like five, six thousand people in the arena. The people wouldn’t get a good view and then you’d lose the atmosphere."

“I think they’re doing the best they can barring one or two things.”

Would snooker need to change?

Asked how snooker could realistically bridge the gap to darts, Allen suggested it would require a fundamental shift, one he is not convinced the sport needs.

“I think it would be a drastic change that would be needed to go down that road. If you’re wanting to go down the razzmatazz sort of loud, letting people shout, roar and whistle and stuff."

“I think we’re doing a good enough job in snooker that we don't really need that.”

The Shoot Out as a possible solution

Allen did, however, highlight one event on the World Snooker Tour calendar that he believes could attract a more darts-like audience, the Snooker Shoot Out.

“You could possibly take the Shoot Out around the country, and around Europe, trying to sell that out and have a bit of fun."

“It’s hard though, because you could potentially only get 10 minutes like I did this year, and if it’s too far away, players won’t travel for that.”

The most recent Shoot Out, held at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, carried a total prize fund of £171,000, with £50,000 for the winner. By comparison, the Masters boasts a prize fund of over £1 million, with £350,000 going to the champion.

Only six of the 16 Masters qualifiers entered the Shoot Out this year, highlighting its lower standing among elite players.

‘You need more money attached’

Allen believes the concept has real potential, but only with significant investment.

“If the money's not great and there’s no first round loser money, people aren’t going to support the event. So, it’s a difficult one."

“That’s the perfect event that would be travelled around the country or further afield, but you probably need more money attached to attract the top players,” he concluded.