Irish pair Aaron Hill and Mark Allen both won deciding frames to advance through qualifying at the British Open in Cheltenham.
Corkman Hill, who has beaten Ronnie O'Sullivan - a late withdrawal from this tournament - Judd Trump and Mark Selby in the past, took another big name down as he defeated world No 9 Ding Junhui 4-3.
All seemed to be going to plan as Ding moved into a 2-0 lead, the second frame going the way of the Chinese player after a break of 83.
However Hill rattled off three frames in succession, including a fantastic break of 117 in the fifth, to move ahead before Ding responded to set up a deciding frame.
It was Hill who took it with the world number 63 moving into the main draw.
Joining him there will be 2022 finalist Allen who was a 4-3 winner against Gary Wilson.
Allen won the first two frames before breaks of 78 and 50 brought Wilson back on terms.
Allen won the next but another big break of 97 from Wilson meant it went down to the final frame, with Allen emerging on top.
However, the 38-year-old Antrim man was far from impressed by what he found at the Centaur Arena at Cheltenham Racecourse.
"The conditions out there are absolutely embarrassing," Allen told ITV.
"It's some of the worst weather outside and they’ve left the massive transport doors open. It’s so cold, it’s so humid, out there.
"The table needs to be burned.
"The cushions are unplayable, uncontrollable. It was heavy. The speed was decent.
"There are new guys doing the tables this year and they’re clearly not up to it."
A statement from World Snooker said: "Our table-fitting team has been consistent for some time and works to the highest standards.
"The weather in the area has seen unprecedented rainfall over the last couple of days which can negatively influence the conditions.
"We have raised the issue of an open door with the venue."
The duo of Hill and Allen - the some time practice partners - are set to meet in the first round proper on Tuesday.
Jordan Brown missed out on a place in the main drawn after losing 4-2 to Zhang Anda. The Antrim Ferrari won the opening two frames but that was as good as it got.
Elsewhere on Monday, Judd Trump moved within touching distance of becoming the third player to rack up 1,000 career centuries after a 4-1 win over Robert Milkins in the first round.
Trump's break of 104 in the opening frame was his 999th ton and leaves him one away from joining Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins as the only players to have reached the milestone.
The world number one had a chance to make the mark in style when he looked on course for a maximum in the fifth and final frame of the match but missed the 11th black on a break of 81.
Higgins, who only accomplished the feat himself at last week's English Open, eased past fellow Scot Ross Muir 4-1 in his first match since his unbroken 29-year stay in the world's top 16 came to an end last week.
Mark Williams suffered a shock 4-1 defeat to Malaysia's Rory Thor, but there were no such problems for world champion Kyren Wilson, who scorched to a 4-0 win over Julien Leclercq.
O'Sullivan withdrew from his scheduled first-round match against Thailand's Manasawin Phetmalaikul on Monday morning.
The World Snooker Tour announced O'Sullivan's withdrawal in a short statement but no reason was given.
