Mark Allen clinched his place in the third round of the UK Championship on Saturday with a 6-4 win over Oliver Lines.

But the Northern Irishman was far from happy as he blasted the event’s organisers for snubbing him from the BBC’s televised coverage.

"Hopefully now I'm into the third round I might get put onto one of the main tables," he said after the match.

"I quite enjoyed being the fifth ranked player left in the tournament and being put on table three.

“That was enjoyable when there are eight televised matches over the two days. I was very disappointed not to be one of them.”

And Allen admitted he thinks his fine season has not been recognised, suggesting lesser players were wrongly given air time.

"You work hard all your life to try and get up the rankings,” he added.

“I’m up to sixth in the world - my joint highest ranking - number five seed left in the tournament after Ding [Junhui] losing and four people below you get on the TV table ahead of you.

"I can understand some - [Neil] Robertson is obviously a past champion here and Ronnie [O’Sullivan] sells out wherever he goes so I completely understand that.

“But there were a few ahead of me in the pecking order that I was very disappointed with."

Allen had come back from 3-2 behind to beat Lines and has now set up a clash against the 22-year-old’s father Peter Lines in the third round.

"I'm really happy with the way I played in the end and very happy to get through that one,” he added.