John Higgins and Mark Williams both cruised into the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters.
World champion Higgins eased to a 5-2 victory over Mark Davis, while world number one Williams enjoyed an even more comprehensive triumph in whitewashing Andrew Higginson 5-0.
Higgins was on the front foot from the start with a 112 break in the opening frame and, although Davis drew level, the Scot clinched the next two frames to put himself in the driving seat.
The pair shared a scrappy next two frames before Higgins finished things off - courtesy of a 68 break - to set up a meeting with Stuart Bingham, who put together two century breaks during his 5-1 thrashing of 2011 World Championship runner-up Judd Trump.
Williams, meanwhile, barely gave Higginson a look-in as he raced to an emphatic win to secure a last-16 clash with Robert Milkins.
Stephen Hendry was poised to lose his place in the world's top 16 after defeat by Milkins in the first round.
The 42-year-old lost four frames in succession from 1-1, meaning he is set to drop out of the world's elite for the first time in 23 years.
That would leave him having to qualify for December's UK Championship and could also see him miss out on the Masters, a tournament he has won a record six times, with this the final ranking event before the October cut-off date.
Asked how he would feel about missing the events, Hendry said: "Of course it would be disappointing. But the way I'm playing at the moment I'd lose in the first round anyway.
"I'm just playing very badly and I've got very little confidence."
Nottingham cueman Michael Holt also advanced today - by seeing off 2006 world champion Graeme Dott 5-2.
The Scot rallied from 3-0 down to get the deficit down to a single frame before Holt pulled away.
