Both players have happy memories of the Stadthalle venue.
Shaun Murphy, Kyren Wilson, and Barry Hawkins were among the top 16 players who secured qualification for the European Masters that will take place in Furth early next year.
The trio contested their preliminary-round matches at the Chase Leisure Centre in Cannock on Thursday without any major hiccups and are now safely through to the last 64.
Murphy and Wilson recorded respective 5-2 triumphs against Simon Blackwell and Lyu Haotian while Hawkins whitewashed Ukrainian teenager Iulian Boiko.
All three have won tournaments at the Stadthalle in Furth in the past, with Shaun Murphy claiming back-to-back Paul Hunter Classics more than a decade ago, before Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins won the last two editions of the now defunct ranking event in 2018 and 2019.
Former world champion Graeme Dott was another high-profile name to advance beyond the qualifying round after the Scot’s 5-3 victory over countryman Scott Donaldson, while Luca Brecel outscored Barry Pinches in a 5-1 rout.
There was one notable casualty, however, as former world number two Stephen Maguire exited proceedings following a 5-1 reverse against Ashley Carty.
China’s Zhao Xintong also unexpectedly crashed out in a 5-4 defeat against Aaron Hill – the young Irishman who has generally disappointed during his debut stint on the Main Tour.
The other players to make it through were Fergal O’Brien, Jamie Jones, Yuan Sijun, Fan Zhengyi, and Jackson Page.
On Friday, there will be more play in what is seeming like a never-ending stream of qualifiers, with John Higgins, Yan Bingtao, and Ali Carter among those entering the fray.
The top four seeds in the European Masters, which somewhat ridiculously doesn’t take place for another four months, all have their matches held over to the main venue.
Live coverage of the European Masters qualifiers is available on the Eurosport Player and Matchroom.Live.
Click here to view the draw (Times: CET)
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