James Wattana believes he can cause problems for Ronnie O'Sullivan when the pair meet in the first round of the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.
Although Wattana is only ranked 65th, he is a former world number three who won three major events in his prime, including the Thailand Open in 1995 when he beat O'Sullivan in the final.
The 41-year-old Thai eased through his wild-card match with Jin Long on Monday, winning 5-1 to clinch another showdown with the most popular player on the circuit.
O'Sullivan won the Shanghai title in 2009 but withdrew from last year's tournament citing family reasons.
Wattana said: "I will try my hardest against Ronnie. We've had some great games in the past. He's the best player in the world, but on the day anything can happen. I'm hoping tomorrow will be my day."
Ireland's Fergal O'Brien saw off Iran’s Hossein Vafaei 5-1 and will face Peter Ebdon in the first round, while Anthony Hamilton crushed China's Li Hang 5-0 and 20-year-old Englishman Jack Lisowski beat another Chinese player, Rouzi Maimaiti, 5-2.
Welshman Dominic Dale was a surprise Shanghai champion four years ago and navigated a path through to the first round today as he came from 2-0 behind to beat China's Cao Xinlong 5-3.
Outstanding performance of the day came from 35-year-old Robert Milkins, who made breaks of 70, 60, 109, 74 and 89 in beating China's Tang Jun in only 54 minutes.
The reward for Milkins is a first-round clash with Stephen Hendry on Wednesday.
Michael Holt beat Cai Jianzhong 5-3, and veteran Nigel Bond ousted Thailand's Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon 5-2 to set up a match against world number two Mark Selby.
