Fergal O'Brien began his quest to qualify for the World Snooker Championship with a 14-10 victory over six-times champion Steve Davis.
The Dubliner was always in control and recorded breaks of 82, 81, 75, 82 and 75 to set up a second-round meeting with Zhou Yuelong of China.
There was disappointment, however, for another Irish hope, Greg Casey, as he exited 10-4 to Ding Junhui.
Despite a break of 60 in the 13th frame, Casey, from the amateur ranks, could not live with his opponent who chalked up impressive breaks of 98 and 99. Next up for Ding is a meeting with Ross Muir.
In today's other qualifying matches, two-time Crucible finalist Ali Carter impressed in a 10-2 win over Mateusz Baranowski, compiling breaks of 70, 111, 66, 55, 130 and 64.
Shoot Out champion Robin Hull came from 5-4 down to beat Barry Pinches 10-7, while Mark Davis saw off Sheffield’s Adam Duffy by the same scoreline.
Dominic Dale managed a top break of just 58 against Ian Glover but still managed to win 10-6.
