Scots snooker hero Stephen Hendry quit the sport because he hated losing so much - Mark Allen believes.

The Pistol grew up as a huge admirer of seven-time world champion Hendry and even played him in his second match as a pro - with the Edinburgh man cruising to a 4-0 win. However, with the duo playing under the same management firm, Allen got the chance to learn from Hendry and believes his hatred of losing is something that all the greats have to have.

Allen, knocked out of the Welsh Open at the second round, is focusing his attentions on a bid for a first World Championship later this year - and spoke about his friendship with Hendry, who retired for good in 2024, to Eurosport. He said: "Stephen retired because he didn't like losing too much. I've had enough moments over the years where I've probably come across a really bad loser. Sometimes it's the heat of the moment, we're not bad people. You stick a camera in front of you just when you've had a really hard defeat, sometimes it's hard to say the right things."

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When asked who he admired as a youngster, Allen continued: "Stephen was the one for me, he was winning everything. I got to spend a bit of time with him when I first turned pro because we were both with the same management company at the time. That was really good, you're sitting having dinner with an all-time great and it was class for me just picking his brain and learning things.

"My very first tournament, I remember getting an invite to the Northern Ireland trophy and I beat Steve Davis 4-0, beat John Higgins 4-1 and then lost to Stephen Hendry, who was my hero. I was suddenly playing him a week after turning pro. That stood me in great stead."

Allen was also asked for his views on recent crticism aimed at world champ Kyren Wilson for comments he made after his Masters defeat to Shaun Murphy, where he labelled the Magician "an old man." But he didn't see an issue with the remarks, adding: "Sometimes you get criticised for it but we're not perfect, we're just human at the end of the day and there's nothing wrong with just being respectful to your opponent and saying they did better than you on any given day. But sometimes it's hard to see it that way."