Andrew Higginson made one of the best clearances in the 13-year history of the 9Club Shoot Out to beat Hossein Vafaei in the second round in Leicester.
Results / Tickets / How to Watch
Higginson trailed 2022 champion Vafaei 55-15 with just 90 seconds on the clock, but made a fantastic break of 42 to snatch victory and a place in the last 32 on Saturday. He needed a brilliant long pot on the pink off the last red to keep the run going, and he then converted tough pots on yellow, green and brown before rolling the blue into a centre pocket just as the buzzer sounded.
Thailand's Noppon Saengkham also triumphed in last-gasp drama to beat David Lilley. Trailing 13-1 with 45 seconds to go, Saengkham played a clever plant on a long red, then added green, red and black to tie the scores, and there was just time to drop another red into a top corner and spark his celebration.
"My heart was booming, I have never felt like that in a snooker match," said Saengkham. "In the last 30 seconds I couldn't see the angles, I was just getting down to the shot and going for it. There was so much pressure."
Last year, Mark Allen became the first top-16 ranked player to lift the trophy, but his title defence ended as he was beaten by Si Jiahui.
China's Wu Yize came from 31-0 down to beat Matthew Stevens with a break of 51. Stevens had a chance to snatch victory but missed the final brown along a baulk cushion when he trailed by just one point.
In a session of close finishes, Neil Robertson recovered a 35-0 deficit to beat Jackson Page with a run of 44. Page was just eight points behind with 15 seconds to go when he missed the final yellow.
Robert Milkins made a break of 71 to beat Graeme Dott while Duane Jones' run of 69 was enough to knock out Anthony McGill. World Women's Champion Bai Yulu saw her hopes ended by Zhang Anda, while Scotland's Liam Graham scored an impressive win over He Guoqiang.
Amateurs Florian Nuessle and Dylan Emery booked their places in the random draw for the last 32, beating Iulian Boiko and Ryan Day respectively.
