A lot of the seeds in action at the English Open on Tuesday reached the last 32 in Brentwood.
Defending champion Neil Robertson held off a stunning fight back from Lei Peifan to eventually prevail in a decider.
Robertson had been coasting at 3-0 when Lei reeled off breaks of 136, 134, and 121 to force a final-frame shoot out, but the Australian compiled a break of 67 in the last.
John Higgins, the man who Robertson beat to clinch glory a year ago, overcame Mark King 4-1 to keep alive his hopes of a World Grand Prix berth.
Higgins requires another run to the final to give himself a chance of breaking into the top 32 on the one-year rankings list in time for Cheltenham.
Elsewhere, there were more 4-1 victories for Judd Trump and Mark Allen who respectively overcame Craig Steadman and Dylan Emery by three-frame margins.
While Allen is bidding for a third ranking title of the campaign, Trump is still searching for his first after an uncharacteristically barren spell on the circuit.
It was even easier for European Masters champion Kyren Wilson, with the Kettering cueist thumping Ben Woollaston 4-0.
Recent UK Championship finalist Ding Junhui beat fellow Chinese competitor Xu Si 4-1, Mark Williams ousted Dominic Dale 4-2, and British Open champion Ryan Day edged Hammad Miah 4-3.
The finalists from the last Home Nations tournament – the Scottish Open in Edinburgh – both crashed out, however.
Gary Wilson came crashing back down to earth with a 4-2 defeat to Martin Gould, who took the last couple of frames in clinical fashion with a brace of big tons.
Joe O’Connor lost 4-2 as well, with four-time world champion Mark Selby getting the better of the younger Englishman.
Hossein Vafaei and David Gilbert were among the bigger casualties on the second day of action at the Brentwood Centre.
Vafaei was downed 4-2 by Pang Junxu, while Gilbert’s hopes of a World Grand Prix spot appear to be in tatters after a 4-1 reverse against Yuan Sijun.
Among the others to make it through to the last 32 were Ali Carter, Anthony McGill, Robert Milkins, Scott Donaldson, and Wu Yize.
In the last of the heldover fixtures from the preliminary rounds, Matthew Selt thrashed amateur Callum Beresford and Marco Fu beat Jimmy Robertson.
On Wednesday, the round of 64 continues with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, and Jack Lisowski back in the fray.
The round of 32 commences during the evening session.
Live coverage is on Eurosport and discovery+, with information on other available options by clicking here.
Click here to view the draw (times in CET)
Featured photo credit: WST
