Judd Trump was well beaten 5-0 by Sam Craigie as he tamely bowed out of the World Open in qualifying on Monday in Preston.
The world number three scored a measly 27 points as his talented fellow Englishman, a former world under-21 champion, comprehensively romped to victory.
Craigie only mustered one half century break in the entire affair, a 66 in the final frame, but he thoroughly outplayed Trump on what was an off day for the former world number one.
For years, many have tipped Craigie to be a star of the future but he is yet to really prove any of that initial teenage promise.
Now 23, the Newcastle player is in the second season of his current two-year tour card and will be seeking a strong campaign in an attempt to break into the top 64 in the world rankings.
Riga Masters champion Ryan Day was also given a scare but fought back well from 2-0 down to Rod Lawler as he overcame the veteran 5-3.
The Welshman, one of the most in-form competitors of 2017, finished confidently after a shaky start with runs of 104, 75, and 71 seeing him over the winning line.
Meanwhile, three-time ranking event winner Ricky Walden recorded a morale-boosting triumph as he ousted Jamie Curtis-Barrett 5-2.
Walden, through a mixture of bad form and injury, has suffered a dramatic slide down the rankings and is now outside the world’s top 20, but is too good a player to stay in that position for long if he can rediscover some lost confidence in his ability.
Joe Perry is another who has fallen down the pecking order over the course of the last year or so but similarly recorded a 5-2 win against Ian Preece.
Elsewhere, former world champion Peter Ebdon and young Belgian Luca Brecel each required all nine frames to eventually dispatch of their opposition, Niu Chuang and Ross Muir respectively.
By contrast, it was much more straightforward for Mike Dunn as he whitewashed Soheil Vahedi in a one-sided affair, with Ian Burns also inflicting a 5-0 loss on Scott Donaldson.
Among the others to advance were Noppon Saengkham, Daniel Wells, Li Hang, and Andrew Higginson, while former Shanghai Masters runner-up Xiao Guodong edged German rookie Lukas Kleckers 5-3.
The qualifiers continue on Tuesday, the penultimate day of action in a week-long stretch at the Guild Hall, with the likes of Stuart Bingham, Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson, and Jimmy White in action.
