The Welshman’s last tournament success was also under a short format.
Mark Williams reached the third round of the British Open with a 3-2 victory against Dominic Dale on Wednesday at the Morningside Arena.
The three-time world champion looked to be heading for an early exit from the competition, but rallied from 2-0 behind to deny his compatriot in a decider.
The 46 year-old emerged with the silverware in last season’s WST Pro Series, an event which boasted a best-of-three format, and he is now one step closer to securing a 24th ranking event triumph.
Williams, who is yet to discover his third-round opponent in the random draw at the British Open, still needs five more wins to claim the £100,000 top prize in Leicester.
Elsewhere on day three, there were plenty of other close encounters as the event shifted from round one into round two.
Stephen Maguire battled his emotions, frustrated at the slow play from his opponent Martin O’Donnell, to reach the last 32 with another 3-2 victory.
Anthony Hamilton, Liam Highfield, Ben Hancorn, and Hossein Vafaei will all feature at the next hurdle thanks to similar successes – the latter courtesy of a 3-2 defeat of recent Championship League runner-up Mark Allen.
Zhou Yuelong, chasing a berth in the top 16 of the world rankings this season, and Welsh Open champion Jordan Brown were more comfortable 3-0 winners.
Earlier on Wednesday, the first round came to a climax with Stuart Bingham, Luca Brecel, Martin Gould, Gary Wilson, and Noppon Saengkham among those living to fight for another day.
On Thursday, the second will be completed with the likes of world champion Mark Selby, world number one Judd Trump, and four-time British Open champions John Higgins and Stephen Hendry returning to the fray.
Live coverage continues on ITV4 in Ireland and the UK.
Click here to view the full draw (Times: CET)
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