Mark Selby and Anthony Hamilton were the two notable casualties in the first round of the Ladbrokes World Grand Prix.
World number one Selby lost 4-3 to Martin Gould at Preston's Guild Hall, while Antrim man Mark Allen crushed German Masters winner Hamilton 4-0.
Selby lost the first two frames but replied with an 87 - only for Pinner's Gould to move within a frame of victory with a clearance of 142.
'The Jester from Leicester' hit back though, edging the next frame and taking the contest to a decider with a clearance of 64.
However, Gould maintained his composure and - after a rerack - made sure of his place in the last 16, helped by a break of 54.
He told ITV4 afterwards: "It's always a big win - he's the comeback king. I felt really good out there all match.
"I'm slowly but surely learning to be a fast starter - sometimes I'm slow out of the blocks," added the 35-year-old, who plays Masters runner-up Joe Perry in the second round.
Joining him there is Allen, who hammered Hamilton 4-0.
The Northern Irishman took control with breaks of 55, 85 and 78, then finished the job impressively with a clearance of 140.
Elsewhere there were 4-2 wins for Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui - against Ricky Walden and Yu Delu respectively.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is Robertson's opponent in the second round and the Australian said: "It's going to be nice to go into a game where no one expects me to win."
