The Saltaire Bar in Shipley welcomed its latest snooker superstar last Friday night, as world number three Mark Allen headed over for a 10-frame exhibition.

It had been organised once again by Gilstead snooker aficionado Keith Walker, who is known by most of the top professionals, given he and his wife Sue have been regulars at The Crucible for the past four decades.

And Northern Irishman Allen was happy to come along to Shipley, as he showed glimpses of why he is regarded as one of the world’s best.

He made two century breaks immediately, before producing a coveted 147 in the penultimate frame of the night against local amateur Trevor Wood.

That was the champagne moment of the exhibition, and after the final black found the pocket, the crowd raced up to Allen to shake his hand, while the room burst into ferocious applause.

Allen spoke to the T&A at the end of the exhibition and discussing his maximum, he said: “It’s good fun, and that’s what people pay their money for, to come and see.

“I’d not had one for a while at an exhibition, and it was nice to do it here, especially for Keith, who I’ve known a long time.

“He puts a lot of work into getting these shows on so it was nice to repay him with a 147.”

He added: “It’s tough making 147s, because people are probably expecting it but they’re not easy.

“I was perfect on 97 tonight, but then I played a terrible shot on the black and I had to make three or four recovery shots in a row before finishing it off well.

“You’re always wanting your 147 to be perfect positionally, but I guess it makes it more dramatic when you don’t.”

Asked if he took the night seriously or as a bit of a knockabout, Allen said: “It’s a bit of both, because for me you should have pride in your performance.

“I made two century breaks in the first two frames tonight and that relaxed me a bit because it shows people I can play snooker.

“But it’s nice to have no pressure, because normally whenever I lift a cue, I’m playing for something, so it’s good to come here, let my hair down and enjoy myself.

“It’s nice to be able to show the people who’ve paid the money to come and watch you a different side to you as well.”

As for the Bradford District players who made up his opposition on Friday night, Allen said: “I’ve done a lot of these exhibitions over the years, and you’ll nearly always get told to watch out for certain local players, so you might try a little harder against them.

“The standard probably wasn’t the best tonight, but some of the guys made great pots and some of the more entertaining frames were when I missed, which led to some back and forth between myself and my opponent.

“It’s good to mix it up and it’s nice to give them a bit of a moment in the spotlight as well.”

The night was also a huge success charity-wise, as £3,100 was raised for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

RESULTS OF SHIPLEY EXHIBITION (BREAKS ABOVE 50 IN BRACKETS):

Frame 1: Mark Allen 127 (100) James Metcalfe 1

Frame 2: Mark Allen 119 (105) Joe Kormokzi 7

Frame 3: Mark Allen 127 (64) Mark Frankland 0

Frame 4: Mark Allen 79 Craig Farrar 9

Frame 5: Mark Allen 83 (75) Lewis Walsh 39

Frame 6: Mark Allen 122 (88) Dave Robson 8

Frame 7: Mark Allen 77 Nail Idem 51

Frame 8: Mark Allen 103 (62) Colin Murphy 16

Frame 9: Mark Allen 147 (147) Trevor Wood 0

Frame 10: Mark Allen 103 Richard Harrison 37

There was also a special charity frame at the end of the night, where local player Mark Pratt was given a 70-point headstart.

It made little difference, as Allen still won that match-up 112-75.