Ronnie O'Sullivan battled through to the last 32 of the World Open with a 5-3 win over Michael White.
The world number one was not at his best, despite back-to-back century breaks, but got the job done in Yushan.
It looked like being a straightforward evening’s work in China for O’Sullivan when he produced breaks of 129 and 106 to move into a 3-1 lead.
But Welshman White battled back and had the chance to earn a decider when he twice found himself in the balls after two uncharacteristic O’Sullivan misses – the second of which saw him hit the table with his cue in frustration.
But O’Sullivan won a safety battle to ensure he progressed in eight frames.
O'Sullivan vs White ending 👌#worldopen | @ronnieo147 pic.twitter.com/ztikeE4MQN
— WST (@WeAreWST) March 19, 2024
Cork's Aaron Hill and Northern Ireland's Jordan Brown both exited the event when they lost final-frame deciders.
Lyu Haotian won the opening two frames against Hill, but the 22-year-old reeled off four frames on the trot against the home hope.
However, Lyu, who contested his first professional tournament at the age of 14, wasn't to be denied and won the next three frames of a scrappy affair as Hill missed out on a last-32 encounter against O'Sullivan.
Brown exploded out of the blocks against Chris Wakelin and recorded a break of 136 in the first frame in their match en route to a 3-0 lead.
The 'Antrim Ferrari' then stalled and a momentum shift saw Wakelin win five of the next six frames to progress.
Judd Trump remained on course for back-to-back titles after a routine 5-2 triumph over Sanderson Lam.
Trump won this event when it was last staged in 2019 – before a four-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic – and is looking a good bet to repeat the feat.
World champion Luca Brecel is through after a 5-2 victory over Oliver Brown, while home favourite Ding Junhui beat Liu Hongyu by the same score.
However, John Higgins is out after a 5-3 loss to Jackson Page.
