Judd Trump and Mark Allen both began their attempts to win the Northern Ireland Open in comfortable fashion on Sunday.
Trump was a 4-1 victor over Jenson Kendrick in the afternoon at the Waterfront Hall.
The Ace in the Pack lost the opener in Belfast but then settled, looking comfortable throughout as he knocked in breaks of 55 and 96 to win his 15th straight match, after claiming victories at the English and Wuhan Opens recently.
Trump could become the fifth player in WST history to win three ranking events in a row and the first since Ding Junhui back in November 2013.
The world number three won in Belfast in 2018 and 2019, as well as claiming the Northern Ireland Open in 2020 - the event that year was played in Milton Keynes owing to Covid restrictions.
"I always seem to improve as the tournament goes on," Trump told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"I never really play my best at the start of the week. It's something you have to work through, and work your confidence up.
"The fans here are always great, very enthusiastic."
Earlier in the day, Neil Robertson got his bid underway with a 4-1 victory over Wu Yize, while 2017 winner Mark Williams beat Tian Pengfei by the same score, registering a 140 break in the process.
But it was another 4-1 victory that was the most popular in the afternoon's play as Antrim's Robbie McGuigan overcame Muhammad Asif.
The 19-year-old was a wildcard entry in the event in Belfast but had previously lost at this stage in 2019 and 2022.
He wasn't to be denied this time around however as he put on a show for his family in the crowd, hitting breaks of 56, 91 and 58 to progress.
"It feels brilliant," he said. "It's only one match so I'm going to keep my feet on the ground and hopefully I can kick on in the rest of the tournament.
"Whenever you feel good mentally you're able to thrive, rather than buckle under the pressure, as I have done in past years.
"I just had such a good mental state that I felt like I was practicing out there."
McGuigan will face Anthony McGill in the first round after the Scot beat veteran Jimmy White in a last-frame decider which finished just after midnight.
In the evening session Mark Allen made short work of Ben Mertens to become the third player from the Antrim Sports Club to book their place in the last 64 following a 4-0 victory.
Allen, the winner of the last two Northern Ireland Opens, looked like he was going to lose the first frame but Mertens twitched on the final black to allow the Pistol in.
And the occasion looked to have gotten to the Belgian as he failed to punish a far from vintage performance from Allen.
"The scoreline is a bit flattering," the Antrim man told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"Ben had chances and didn't take them, and to be honest, I just used all my experience. I missed a bad pink at the end but in general I didn't miss many easy ones.
"I made him work for his chances and it was just an ok performance. All in all it's just about getting that win in the first round, because he's a very talented player, and a banana skin for me."
Jack Lisowski had a highest break of 112 in a 4-1 victory over Rebecca Kenna. World number eight Kyren Wilson was edged out 4-3 by Sam Craigie and Robert Milkins also lost in a last-frame decider against Cao Yupeng, as did Welshman Ryan Day against Ma Hailong.
Sunday's late matches saw Jamaican amateur Rory McLeod – a replacement for Ronnie O’Sullivan, who withdrew for medical reasons – book his place in the next round with a 4-0 win over Egypt-born American Ahmed Aly Elsayed.
Former world champion Shaun Murphy saw off Australian Ryan Thomerson 4-2.
Allen will play Estonian Andres Petrov on Monday evening. Former world champion Ken Doherty faces Ian Burns on Tuesday morning while Aaron Hill will play world number 31 Zhengyi Fan in the afternoon session when Jordan Brown also takes on Neil Robertson.
