Defending champion Mark Williams suffered a Rory Thor hammer blow on day one of the Unibet British Open in Cheltenham, losing 4-1, while player of the season so far Judd Trump took his career century tally to 999.
Williams was runner-up to Trump at the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters but then changed his cue, and so far that decision has backfired as he lost in the first round of last week's English Open, and again today against world number 81 Thor. Scoring a top break of 85, Malaysia's Thor enjoyed one of the best results of his career so far as he progressed to the last 64.
Trump has two titles under his belt already this season and started strongly today with a 4-1 win over Robert Milkins. World number one Trump was in danger of missing the tournament when he was stuck in a three-hour traffic jam on the M5 from Bristol. But he made it just in time and rattled in breaks of 104, 81, 74 and 81.
Last week, John Higgins joined Ronnie O'Sullivan as the only players to make 1,000 centuries, and Trump will surely follow soon. "I wanted to do it in style with a 147 in the last frame," he said. "It didn't quite happen today - but maybe in the next game. It would be special to join Ronnie and John, two of the greatest of all time. But one day I want to be the best and take all the records on my own."
World number three Mark Allen edged out Gary Wilson 4-3 and now meets Aaron Hill, who scored an excellent 4-3 win over Ding Junhui with a top break of 117. Higgins compiled runs of 72 and 88 in a 4-1 win over Ross Muir, while Shaun Murphy made a 105 in a 4-0 defeat of Ian Burns.
Mark Selby made a superb 58 clearance in the deciding frame to beat Pang Junxu 4-3 on the final black, while World Champion Kyren Wilson dismissed Julien Leclercq 4-0 with a top break of 98.
Hungary's promising tour rookie Bulcsu Revesz edged out Ali Carter 4-3. "It's a fantastic win for me," said Revesz. "I am really enjoying being on the tour. Everything is so serious and professional, it's so great to play in these conditions, better than expected. Snooker is brilliant just to watch on television, so to live it - with so many amazing players on the other tables - is something else. My father tells me to think like I can beat anyone."