Five-times British champion Stephen Hendry had to dig deep to stave off a late Dave Harold fightback before sealing a place in the third round of the Maplin UK Championship in York.
The number three eventually spoiled birthday boy Harold's party with a 9-7 victory and will meet ninth seed Mark Williams for a place in the quarter-finals.
Beginning the evening session at the Barbican Centre with a 6-2 lead, victory for the former seven-times world champion seemed a formality.
But Harold - celebrating his 40th birthday today - had other ideas, making breaks of 111 and 115 along the way to taking five of the next six frames as he levelled the scores at 7-7 to set up a grand finale.
The 15th frame was to prove crucial - and both players had their chances to gain the initiative. It was Hendry, however, who eventually prospered after Harold cued a simple red into the jaws of the middle pocket.
Despite being ranked number one in the world, the Scot has performed poorly this season - making the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Trophy and failing to progress past the group stages of the Royal London Grand Prix - but Hendry held his nerve to make breaks of 88 and 82 to seal the win.
On the other table, reigning world champion Graeme Dott made light work of Scottish counterpart Scott Mackenzie with a masterful display.
The second seed entered the evening session with a 6-2 lead and effortlessly booked a third-round tie with Finland's Robin Hull, posting sizeable breaks of 107 and 112 along the way to claiming the remaining three frames required inside 38 minutes.
Earlier in the day, reigning champion Ding Junhui failed to live up to his billing after being held to a 4-4 scoreline by Ryan Day at the close of the first session.
The 19-year-old looked jaded having arrived in York only late last night following the completion of his triple-gold medal haul for China at the Asian Games on Thursday but managed to post breaks of 111 and 119 to stay in contention.
Elsewhere, three-times UK finalist Ken Doherty is just two frames away from victory after establishing a 7-1 lead over second round opponent Mike Dunn.
The Dubliner reeled off six consecutive frames in an hour and a half to take full control against the lowest-ranked player remaining in the competition.
