In the first ever match between two women players at a ranking event venue, Mink Nutcharut scored a 4-2 victory over Reanne Evans as the BetVictor English Open got underway in Brentwood.
The tournament runs until Sunday September 22nd, with the top 32 seeds joining the action on Monday. From 2-1 down against Evans, Thailand's Nutcharut took three consecutive frames to earn a second round meeting with Ricky Walden on Monday morning.
Basildon's Zak Surety, who lives just 15 minutes from the venue, top scored with 77 as he beat Farakh Ajaib 4-2. Oliver Lines made a 63 in the decider to beat Rory Thor 4-3, while Liam Pullen fired runs of 52, 85 and 60 in a 4-0 defeat of Antoni Kowalski. Latvia's promising Artemijs Zizins saw off Duane Jones 4-2.
Michael Holt came from 3-2 down to edge out Gong Chenzhi 4-3, making a 31 clearance to snatch frame six on the black, then a 74 clearance from 54-0 down in the decider.