Lisowski and Brown were tied 1-1 and had a fierce safety battle with Brown leading the frame 33-29. Only two reds remained on the board and every ball except the blue was close to the top cushion, forcing both players to be very careful in their decisions.
Brown put Lisowski in a difficult situation when it sent the putt back to blue and the world number 16 needed extreme precision to prevent his opponent from pulling away and capturing the decisive frame in the contest.
Lisowski saw full red, so technically not in snooker, but had to cut the left edge of the red so Brown wouldn’t leave the bank a chance. On the first attempt, Lisowski completely missed the red and hit the pink, giving Brown six points.
He fouled a second time and gave Brown another six points. Oddly enough, Lisowski aimed for the third time and was in danger of having the frame drop as a result of the three-pass rule. Missing the ball three times in a row when a player has a clear line of sight to the ball results in a frame for the opponent.
Lisowski completely missed the red the third time, which should have seen Brown automatically take the shot. It was a confusing moment that left many wondering why the game continued when Brown returned to the table, unlike Lisowski, who surrendered the frame.
The World Snooker Tour confirmed to Express Sport that the referee made a mistake. The rule only comes into effect when the referee has warned the player after the second pass.
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