Thepchaiya Un-Nooh suffered a 4-2 defeat to Xu Si as the WST Classic, despite making a sparkling 147 maximum break in their second-round tie.
It was the fourth time in his career that Thepchaiya has completed snooker perfection and the feat came in the fifth frame after he had lost three of the first four frames.
It wasn't enough to spark a significant comeback, however, and Si, who made breaks of 94, 92 and 69, completed a professional performance to reach the last 32.
Elsewhere, James Cahill pulled off a huge upset by defeating Shaun Murphy 4-3.
Murphy has been the form man on the circuit in recent weeks, running out a brilliant winner of the Players Championship, but he wasn't at his best as Cahill claimed one of his biggest career wins since beating Ronnie O'Sullivan at the World Championship in 2019.
Murphy looked in control when leading 3-2 thanks to a total clearance of 143, but Cahill kept in touch and secured his place in the third round by taking an error-ridden final frame.
Earlier, Mark Allen survived a brave fightback from Mark Davis, eventually winning 4-3 after coming through a nervy deciding frame.
There were also victories for Martin Gould, Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter, while John Higgins looked in good touch as he swept aside Mark Joyce 4-1.
