Spare a thought for Thai snooker player Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who missed a final black ball shot worth £44,000 ($90,561) while trying to complete a rarely seen 147 maximum break at the UK Snooker Championship in York.
In snooker, a 147 break involves a player potting 15 reds and 15 blacks before finishing with the colours in order. It is the most points a player can score in one visit to the table and something that doesn't happen every day.
A successful 147 involves precise cueing and exemplary white ball control, so much so that many professional players go their entire career without making one - especially on television.
So when Un-Nooh potted the pink ball - his 35th consecutive pot - and gave himself a relatively easy shot on the black, no one could have imagined he was about to miss a shot that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Oh no, would you believe it?" said commentator John Virgo. "Well, words can't describe how bad he must be feeling. What a moment it was in his career, in his snooker career, in his life. I can't believe it, neither can he."
Un-Nooh looked a broken man, but it wasn't until after the match - he lost 6-2 to Australian Neil Robertson - that he was informed the black ball was worth a lot more than just warm applause from the crowd.
"44,000 pounds?" Un-Nooh said in disbelief. "You should have told me before I potted the black ... I have nothing to say. I got 15 black and then missed the black number 16. So disappointed. Too much pressure on the black. In the eighth frame I was still thinking about the black ball, that black ball make me have nightmare tonight."
Robertson, who a frame later made an equally impressive break of 145, said he was feeling for his opponent who has never made a 147 on television.
"Poor Thepchaiya," Robertson told Cambridge News. "Like me, he's an overseas player and that prize money would have gone a long way and meant a lot to him - helping him with his expenses and that sort of thing. I'm gutted for him but delighted to win 6-2 against the guy with probably the most raw talent on the circuit."
Un-Nooh can take solace from the fact he is not the first snooker player to bottle a 147. World No.1 and 2014 world champion Mark Selby missed a similar black at the China Open in 2013, while Irishman Ken Doherty did the same in embarrassing circumstances in the final of the 2000 Masters against Matthew Stevens at Wembley.
Oh no. Thailand's Un-Nooh misses last black for 147 at York. Can't be many worse feelings in sport. Cost him 44k.— Chris Waters (@CWatersYPSport)
December 1, 2015
"£44,000? I wish you told me before!" A devastated Un-Nooh in the press room after his missed 147 #baizeofglory pic.twitter.com/lCM95HkBiJ— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker1)
December 1, 2015
15 x reds 15 x blacks 1 x yellow 1 x green 1 x brown 1 x blue 1 x pink ...... missed ⚫️ Un Nooh? Oh No, more like.— bet365 (@bet365)
December 1, 2015
