Joe O'Connor made a crucial clearance in the last frame of the day to draw 2-2 with Aaron Hill and finish top of Group 22 at the BetVictor Championship League.
Leicester's O'Connor goes through to the second group stage which starts on June 28th. In his first match of the day he made a break of 130 during a 2-2 draw with Harvey Chandler, and O'Connor followed up with a 3-1 victory over Oliver Lines. Meanwhile, Hill had identical results, which meant that the last match of the group would be decisive.
Ireland's Hill led 2-1 and the contest was in the balance in the fourth frame until O'Connor, having trailed 38-32, made a vital break of 40. That left the pair tied on points, so the group was decided on the highest break, and O'Connor's 130 eclipsed Hill's best effort of 74.
Michael White topped Group 23 to become the fourth Welshman this week to qualify for phase two, following success for Ryan Day, Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens.
White made breaks of 83, 74 and 98 to beat Dean Young 3-0, then fired 122 and 94 in a 3-0 defeat of Ryan Davies. Stephen Maguire may have started the group favourite, but his hopes were dented by a 3-0 reverse against Davies, and a 2-2 draw in his last match against White wasn't enough.
The event continues on Thursday with the likes of Robert Milkins and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in action. For details of how to watch, click here.