Jimmy White was forced to forfeit a frame to Anton Kazakov after falling foul of the little-known three-miss rule in World Snooker Championship qualifying, then later punched the snooker table in anger. Tied at 1-1 and without a ball being potted, White attempted to edge a red on the right cushion but failed on numerous occasions.

Trying to lightly touch the red and get the cue ball back up the table, leaving his opponent without a shot to take on, White missed twice and had a decision to make over whether to try the same attempt a third time.

The referee reminded him and Kazakov that if White were to miss for a third shot in a row, while not hitting any other red, he would forfeit the frame. If the official had not informed the players, the rule would not have been enforced.

The 62-year-old did aim for another ball, this time on the opposite cushion, but failed to hit it and conceded the frame.

The rules of snooker state: “Failure to hit a ball ‘on’ three times in a row, if the player has a clear sight of the ball. The referee will warn a player after a second such miss that a third miss will mean that the opponent will be awarded the frame. This rule does not apply if the player is snookered.”

Typically when players have missed twice they change their shot attempt, ensuring they hit a red ball, even though a safe position may not be guaranteed.

Neal Foulds on commentary was baffled by White’s decision-making, saying: “Surely that’s end of frame isn’t it? That’s end of frame. [The referee] must have administered the warning, Jimmy White has missed three times so the frame is over - what a way to lose a frame.”

Co-commentator Phil Yates then added: “It’s not unprecedented of course, it has happened, it has happened in big matches. It has happened in a ranking final in fact between Judd Trump and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh [World Open final 2019] but it is a rarity.

“White obviously expected to catch the thin edge of the red at the third attempt but no cigar and having missed a golden opportunity for 2-0, in the matter of a few moments thereafter he has found himself 2-1 behind.”

Foulds explained: “[The referee] must have given him the warning, right? I didn’t see or hear him do it so apologies to him for that, we knew that he had missed three times. The middle one was the miscue which there is nothing you can do about it, but it is still a miss.

“So he gave the warning, which was a quiet little warning, Jimmy White chose presumably to ignore it because he clearly had shots at reds there. So why did he try and hit that left off the cushion? In doing so he is 2-1 down and that is something of a plot twist.”

White had pulled back to 3-3 and had a big opportunity to go 4-3 ahead when Kazakov let him back in, but failed to make a simple red to bottom-left and punched the table while walking back to his chair.

Foulds said "no words needed" with that red left over the pocket, allowing Kazakov to return and take the seventh frame with ease.