Ronnie O'Sullivan saved his best until last to edge past David Gilbert into the second round of the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham.
O'Sullivan took advantage of some basic errors from his opponent to move into a 3-1 lead despite a highest break of just 53, but Gilbert hit back with breaks of 69 and 115 to level the scores and force a decider.
However, Gilbert missed a long red by some distance in the final frame and O'Sullivan rattled in a total clearance of 129, the 1,036th century of his career, to seal a 4-3 victory.
The five-time world champion will face either Northern Ireland's Mark Allen or China's Liang Wenbo in the last 16.
Another decider was required in the match between Tom Ford and Stephen Maguire, with Ford coming from 3-1 down to win 4-3.
Ronnie O'Sullivan felt like the underdog coming into his first round match with David Gilbert, but he's enjoying his snooker and happy to get through to the last 16 👌 #CoralSnookerSeries pic.twitter.com/RACAJcrpxx
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) February 3, 2020
