Local favourite Mark Allen slumped to a first round exit at the Northern Ireland Trophy this afternoon.
The 20-year-old Antrim potter attracted plenty of home support at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, but found Welshman Ryan Day too hot to handle on the way to a 5-1 defeat.
There were a few people in the crowd cheering him on, but as soon as I started knocking in some breaks they went a bit quiet,' said Day, who now plays Barry Hawkins in the second round tomorrow afternoon.
'I was quite nervous starting off, but once I got going I thought I played well.
'Mark didn't play as well as he can, but I didn't really give him the chance.'
'It's about time I won a tournament and got myself in the top 16,' added the world number 17, a quarter-finalist at least season's Welsh Open.
Day pocketed breaks of 79, 73, 56 and 91 to progress, winning the last three frames after Allen had pulled back to 2-1 down with a high break of 52.
Meanwhile, Nigel Bond safely secured his passage through to the second round, albeit after an early wake-up call against Dubliner Michael Judge.
World number 44 Judge started with a 122 break in the first frame of the pair's best-of-nine frame clash, but 40-year-old Bond, 24 places above his opponent in the world rankings list, hit back to win five frames on the bounce.
Surprisingly, Bond - winner of the 1996 British Open - only had two breaks over 50, a 66 run in the third frame and a 51 in the deciding sixth frame as he secured a 5-1 victory.
Thailand's James Wattana, three times a ranking event winner, is also through to the second round - where he will meet defending Malta Cup champion Ken Doherty in the next round.
'The Typhoon' recorded a 5-4 win over Jimmy Michie, knocking in breaks of 44, 61, 59 and 64 on the way to victory, while Michie had a 103 run but no other notable breaks.
World number 21 Michael Holt suffered a shock first-round defeat by qualifier Mike Dunn.
The Nottingham potter, three times a ranking quarter-finalist, was beaten 5-2 by Dunn, a player ranked 34 places below him in the world standings.
Holt, who is hoping to break into the top 16 and who has hinted at also starting a pool career, had breaks of 60, 40 and 74.
But Dunn, who had to win two qualifying matches to make the first-round draw, knocked in runs of 57, 58 and 63 to progress.
