Snooker ace Mark Allen spectacularly made up a 147 maximum break in his third-round clash against Ben Mertens at the British Open, on the same table he suggested should be "burned".

Allen, who narrowly secured victory in his opening game of the tournament against Gary Wilson, had lambasted the playing conditions at Cheltenham's Centaur Arena as "absolutely embarrassing", going as far as to say "the table needs to be burned".

The world number three, who later offered an apology to interviewer Rob Walker on X (formerly known as Twitter) for his heated comments, had earlier dispatched Republic of Ireland's Aaron Hill with a 4-1 scoreline, paving the way for his encounter with Belgian prodigy Mertens.

After clinching the first frame, Allen executed the fourth perfect clearance of his illustrious career, which featured an impressive double into the middle pocket on the 10th red, propelling him to a 2-0 lead before sealing a 4-1 triumph with a break of 77.

If no other player matches Allen's 147 in Cheltenham, he stands to collect the £5,000 high break prize.

The snooker star is set to return to the baize for the late evening session, facing off against Chris Wakelin, who overcame David Grace 4-2, including a near-century break of 99 in the fourth frame.

Earlier on Thursday, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh also flirted with a maximum but faltered on the 13th red during the first frame of his 4-3 victory over Ricky Walden, advancing to the last 16 where he will confront Mark Selby in the late session.

Judd Trump, the world number one, continued his winning streak with a 4-2 victory over Mark Davis, taking his season's tally to 21 wins from 23 matches. Elsewhere, Oliver Lines narrowly defeated Sunny Akani 4-3.

John Higgins emerged victorious in a three-hour all-Scottish battle against Graeme Dott, winning 4-2. He will next face Rory Thor, who has already ousted former world champions Mark Williams and Neil Robertson.

Reigning Crucible champion Kyren Wilson showcased his prowess with breaks of 80 and 95, securing a 4-0 win over Marco Fu. Meanwhile, Luca Brecel triumphed over Liam Davies with a score of 4-1.