Newly-crowned Saga Masters champion John Higgins was forced to produce another great comeback to avoid a shock defeat at the Malta Cup in Portomaso tonight.
Higgins pulled off a memorable 64 clearance to edge Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-9 on the final black at Wembley.
But he looked set to be brought sharply down to earth by Gloucester's Robert Milkins, who led 4-2 before Higgins fought back to win 5-4.
"When things are going well for you then the little bits of luck tend to go your way and that's what happened," admitted Higgins, who is looking for his second ranking title of the season after winning the Grand Prix last October.
"The money was great at the Masters but there were no ranking points to go with it so it's important to do well here. It would have been disappointing to lose so early and not feel involved in the tournament."
Milkins led 50-0 in the eighth frame but missed a black with a good chance to complete a 5-3 victory.
Higgins eventually won that frame on the blue and controlled the decider to set up a second-round meeting with his fellow Scot Alan McManus.
McManus became the first player to reach the last 16 when he defeated Ali Carter 5-2.
Paul Hunter suffered another setback when he was beaten 5-3 by Welshman Dominic Dale.
Hunter, who is still receiving treatment for cancer, constructed a break of 83 to win the seventh frame but Dale won the eighth to deny the world number five what would have been only his second victory of the season.
The three-times Masters champion currently lies 17th in the provisional rankings and will fall further after his latest defeat, meaning his place in the elite top 16 is under serious threat.
