David Gilbert exited the German Masters qualifiers in sensational fashion on Thursday at the Morningside Arena.
The Englishman threw in the towel early, offering his hand to opponent Andy Hicks despite only trailing 3-2 in a nine-frame encounter.
Gilbert was 56-1 behind in points during the sixth frame of the contest when he missed a black off the spot.
The competitor known as the Angry Farmer then cut a despondent figure as he immediately conceded the fixture and raced out of the arena.
Gilbert can expect to receive a hefty fine for his actions, with his German Masters withdrawal sparking memories of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s infamous concession from a similar situation at the 2006 UK Championship.
On that occasion, the Rocket was handed a fine of more than £20,000, so it will be interesting to see what kind of measures are taken against Gilbert.
Meanwhile, several players emerged from their second qualifying fixtures in Leicester to successfully book their spots at the venue stages in February.
Former champion Ali Carter overcame Robbie Williams 5-2 while Jack Lisowski bounced back from the disappointment of his semi-final exit in last week’s UK Championship with a 5-3 defeat of Jackson Page.
Chinese duo Xiao Guodong and Zhang Anda will participate at the Tempodrom after respective triumphs against Hossein Vafaei and James Cahill.
Elliot Slessor needed all nine frames and the final black to dispatch of Sanderson Lam in a thriller, while amateur top-up Ross Muir beat Liam Highfield.
Elsewhere, there were a number of players who negotiated their opening hurdles of the preliminary competition.
Ding Junhui thumped Jordan Brown 5-1 with a high break of 143 in the last frame, while Luca Brecel ousted Chang Bingyu 5-2.
Among the others to advance were Matthew Stevens – a 5-0 winner against Stephen Hendry – and reigning Welsh Open champion Joe Perry.
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Featured photo credit: WST
