Bai Yulu was denied a place in the final stages of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship as her historic run in the qualifying rounds ended with a 6-1 defeat to Jack Lisowski.
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In winning three matches to reach the last 48, China's 21-year-old Bai became the first woman to get that far in a Triple Crown tournament, though her dream of reaching the televised phase in York came to an end. Lisowski goes through to the last 32 and will be in the draw on Thursday afternoon.
Bai, the World and UK Champion on the women's tour, knocked out Farakh Ajaib, Jamie Jones and Scott Donaldson to get this far, making 15 breaks over 50 in that trio of wins. She was outplayed by world number 21 Lisowski, but has shown enough potential to raise excitement about her results and performances in upcoming tournaments. She will be back in action at the Shoot Out in Leicester on December 5th.
Lisowski took the first frame with a break of 79, then Bai had a chance to snatch the second from 69-0 down but missed the final blue. That proved a key moment as Lisowski went 2-0 up, and soon runs of 64 and 77 made it 4-0. Bai at least showed her break-building quality with a run of 59 to take frame five, before Lisowski fired runs of 85 and 66 to complete the scoreline.
Bai said: "I had a chance to take the second frame but I felt a bit nervous. I felt relaxed before the match, but once I was out there I felt tension. I have gained a lot of experience of these occasions this week, it gives me more confidence. I can see some weaknesses in my game which I will work on. I need to get more good results in order to influence more girls to play snooker."
Lisowski added: "Bai had an incredible run and that storyline was in the back of my head so I had to keep my concentration tonight. If she had potted the blue and gone 1-1 it could have been different. My game is patchy, good and bad, but I am enjoying the game."
China's Wu Yize, runner-up in the English Open, booked his place in York with a 6-3 win over David Lilley, top scoring with 82, 61 and 51. Ryan Day saw off Sanderson Lam 6-2 with a top break of 82, joining fellow Welshmen Jak Jones and Jackson Page who made it through earlier in the day.
Barry Hawkins battled to a 6-3 defeat of Wang Yuchen with top runs of 64, 111, 55 and 69. "It's tough coming here to qualify but it feels great when you get through," said Hawkins, whose best run in York came three years ago when he reached the semi-finals. "York is one of the best venues we play at and the atmosphere is always special, hopefully it will bring the best out of me."