Mark Allen cracked up the Scottish Open crowd with an unusual move during his semi-final clash on Saturday evening.

The Northern Irishman was competing for a spot in the final of the competition, with Chinese star Lei Peifan as his opponent.

But the world No.5 brought a humorous reaction from the crowd when he lifted the black ball up off the table during a frame he’d already claimed as his own.

At first, the sight of a snooker player and not the referee touching the balls on the table did raise a few eyebrows, but it soon became clear why the 38-year-old was so keen to interfere.

It was so the white ball, which had pinged back off the ball that won him the frame, was hurtling towards the dormant black ball.

But keen to land an extra pot even though there weren’t any points on offer, Allen ever-so-slightly shifted the black ball so that the white ended up knocking it into the cushion on its way past.

Clearly a lover of snooker trick shots that go viral on the internet, Allen looked rather pleased with his mischievous action, with the crowd responding in laughter.

It’s been quite the week of trick shots at the Scottish Open, with none of them more eye-catching (or worth as many likes and reposts) than Luca Brecel’s marvellous escape from a snooker.

Dubbed the ‘escape of the century’, Brecel had been taking on Ding Junhui when the Belgian fired an ambitious shot off a cushion in an attempt to escape a snooker.

The white initially missed the yellow and hit the cushion three times, but looked destined for the pocket, only to bounce off the cushion a further two times and trickle away from danger.

The magic had only just started though. It continued off the corner of another pocket before remarkably heading straight in the direction of the yellow, which it had just enough pace to reach.

A stunned Brecel reflected on his shot after the match, telling Eurosport: “This is incredible. Normally I don’t miss those shots, but I was happy I missed it and got out of it this way. Nobody hits it as hard as me.

Eurosport commentator Philip Studd joined in with the amazement, stating: “That might be the most surreal escape from a snooker in the history of the sport.”