Mark Allen beaten 4-2 by Jordan Brown in Northern Ireland Open return

Mark Allen's return to competitive action ended in defeat as he lost 4-2 to Jordan Brown at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open on Tuesday.

Allen, 40 and a former world number one, had not played since May's World Championship in Sheffield following his agonising World Championship semi-final loss to Wu Yize in early May; Brown is 39.

Allen won the opening frame but Brown took the next two to lead 2-1, and although Allen drew level at 2-2, Brown produced breaks of 53 and 80 in the final two frames to secure the 4-2 victory.

The defeat makes Allen the 10th top-16 player to fall at the first hurdle this season, with Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Mark Selby among those eliminated early.

In other opening-round results on Tuesday, three-time world champion Mark Williams beat Robbie Williams 4-2, and Michael Holt eliminated Zhou Yuelong with a 4-1 win.

Brown will now attempt to progress further than he did last year, when he lost 5-2 to Allen in the quarter-finals.

Defending champion Jack Lisowski is scheduled to play Anthony McGill in Tuesday's evening session at 21:00 BST.