Martin Gould’s UK Championship challenge ended in a heartbreaking final-frame defeat to Rod Lawler in the second-round stage at the York Barbican.
World number 27 Gould looked in decent form as he raced into a 3-0 lead, and he reasserted himself to edge 4-3 ahead after Lawler fought back.
But Lawler, the world number 35, stayed in the match and eventually prevailed in a tense decider.
Gould, 33, has been in impressive form this season and was hoping for a deep run into one of snooker’s “Big Three” tournaments.
The Pinner potter reached the semi-finals of the Wuxi Classic in China and only missed out on title success at the Bulgarian Open in Sofia, where he lost to the in-form Shaun Murphy.
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This post was last modified on 05/12/2014