Aaron Hill's bid to reach a debut World Snooker Championship was denied in cruel fashion as he lost the deciding frame in a 10-9 defeat to David Gilbert in the final qualifying round.
The Corkman put himself in a strong position in Sheffield, with five half centuries on his way to a 6-3 lead from the morning session.
The 23-year-old resumed the evening session in style, reeling off a break of 95 to move within three frames of victory at the Sheffield Institute of Sport.
However, Gilbert dug deep with successive breaks of 78 and 76 to ensure the bare minimum between them.
Hill took the 13th frame to lead 8-6, but Gilbert took his opportunities when they arose, restricting his opponent to just five points over the next two frames.
A break of 65 in the 16th frame put Hill, who has already come through two rounds with wins over Haris Tahir and Anthony McGill, on the cusp of victory, but it was Gilbert who finished strong.
The only century break (118) of the evening session was followed by a 53 that ensured his progress to the first round proper would be decided by a winner-takes-all 19th frame.
Hill, who finished with a higher pot rate (62%) than his opponent, could only watch on as Gilbert rattled off his third frame on the spin with a break of 63 to claim a 10-9 win.
Hill has beaten the likes of Mark Selby, Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan in his professional career, with his best tournament performance being a quarter-final at this year's German Masters.
