Showboating Kyren Wilson spurned the chance to make history when he attempted a no-look shot on the black in his 6-5 victory over Si Jiahui at the Shanghai Masters.
The last-16 tie included six century breaks to tie the record for the most ever in a best-of-11 match – equalling Judd Trump and Neil Robertson’s meeting in the 2016 Masters and Robertson’s encounter with Mark Selby in 2020.
Wilson reached 97 in the deciding frame but opted for a no-look shot and missed the black.
The Englishman said he didn’t realise he was on the verge of breaking the record but said it wouldn’t have changed his approach.
“I did the silly no-look thing,” Wilson said.
“Especially in China, I feel the sport is blowing up out here and a lot of it is about doing things a bit differently. You have to have a bit of fun. The crowd appreciate that sort of thing.
“There’s no chance I’d have just rolled that black in, even if I knew about the record. It is still about doing things differently. We are stepping into a modern era in snooker.”
Elsewhere, defending champion Trump advanced with a 6-2 victory against Robertson.
