Mark Allen: Players will quit expensive tour

The world number six says that the focus on Asian-based events, particularly in China, have made costs prohibitive for players below the elite level.

Players bear the cost of travel expenses, and many struggle to make ends meet with repeated trips abroad.

"There will be far more players who can't afford to play," Allen told the BBC.

"There will be 128 players starting next season but three or four months later that will be down to under 100.

"Six months in and that could be down to 64, because so many people won't be able to fork out for expenses."

The 27-year-old’s view is that despite World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn raising the prize pool in snooker from £3.5m to £8m in the last three years, the costs, particularly for those not regularly in contention for tournament victories, are too steep.

No player outside the world’s top 48 earned more than £50,000 in the last two years.

"When we started going to China we used to get our flights paid for but when Barry came in he stopped that, so that's probably another £10,000-£15,000 a year we have to pay out,” said Allen.

"I'm lucky to play the game I love for a living but I'm number six in the world, I deserve to have a bit more money."

Allen, who won the World Open in China in his final tune-up for this month’s World Championships at the Crucible in Sheffield, has suggested that the Asian events are concentrated into a smaller window and played back-to-back, similar to golf’s Asian swing and tennis events on the ATP and WTA tours.

"It would make more sense if we, like the European Tour in golf, spent six to eight weeks in China and then came back to Europe," said Allen.

"I could probably count on the fingers of one hand how many days I've spent at home in 2013 so far.

"I've got a daughter who lives in England with her mum and I don't get to see her that much. It does take a mental toll."