A new Golden Ball was introduced at the first Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker, with John Higgins closing in on becoming the first player to win £395,000 with a 167 break.
Higgins, 48, a four-time world champion, hit 15 on the red and black but overhit his approach to the yellow.
The golden ball was brought to the Saudi Arabia tournament, where the world's leading athletes are participating.
If a player hits 147, they have a chance to break the 167 record.
A golden ball worth 20 points is placed on the top cushion throughout the frame as long as the player can complete the maximum break, and is removed when the chance ends.
On the first day of the tournament, Scotland's Higgins looked set to make history in the first frame of his second round match against Wales' Mark Williams.
But the former world number one was unable to cut the yellow, smiling and shaking his head as he finished with a break of 120.
Higgins, who won world titles in 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2011, defeated Williams 4-2 to set up a quarter-final clash with England's world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The event will feature the world's top 10 athletes, led by seven-time world champion O'Sullivan, and two local wildcards.
In the other first-round match held on Monday, England's Ali Carter held off a counterattack from China's Ding Runhui to win 4-3 and advance to the last eight.
Higgins and Ding, ranked ninth and 10th in the world, started in the qualifying round with whitewash wins over Saudi Arabia's Omar Alajlani and Qatar's Ali Alobaidli.
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