There were mixed fortunes for Martin and Allan, as well as some controversy, at the Paul Hunter Classic in Germany at the end of August.

Allan was disappointed to lose 4-0 in the first round to Sean O'Sullivan in a match where he never really got going. Sean is a young and upcoming player (and regular practice partner of Martin) who's game has really improved over the past couple of seasons.

He went on to win two further matches before being knocked out by eventual semi-finalist Michael Holt at the last sixteen stage.

Martin played well to win his first two matches, the first of which was against the Thai player, Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon.

Soon after completing a 4-2 victory, Martin received a phone call from the Chairman of the World Snooker and Billiards Association advising him that the WSBA had been alerted to comments made on Twitter regarding strange betting patterns on the match, which they were obliged to investigate further.

This came as something of a surprise as Martin had not noticed anything unusual during the match, although his opponent has been under investigation for match fixing before.

The WSBA made it clear that Martin was not under any suspicion himself, and we now wait to see what will emerge from the investigation.

In his second round match Martin defeated Welshman Duane Jones 4-3 in a high quality contest, clinching the deciding frame with a superb 70 break.

Despite breaks of 89 and 98, Martin was eventually knocked out in the next round by Ian Burns, who made three breaks over 50 himself in another enthralling contest.

The next event for the boys is the International Championship qualifiers in Barnsley at the end of September.