After late night drama stretching into the early hours of this morning, day three saw round one draw to a conclusion with round two also getting underway at Halo World Championship Qualifying.
Players enter this fiercely contested qualifying gauntlet at different stages depending on where they are seeded, as follows:
Round one begins today by pitting players ranked 81 to 112 against those ranked 113 to 144.
In round two, those 32 winners will face players ranked 49 to 80.
In round three, those 32 winners will face players ranked 17 to 48.
In round four, those 32 winners play each other, with the 16 winners going through to the Crucible.
The qualifying rounds run until Wednesday April 16th. With players competing to the backdrop of tour survival battles and a quest to achieve their dreams by earning qualification for the sport's grandest stage, fireworks are guaranteed. Matches are contested over the best of 19 frames, across two sessions.
11:56PM
With the clock just shy of midnight, it's Duane Jones who gets over the line to book his place in round two, prevailing 10-9 over Florian Nuessle.
We return tomorrow morning from 10am for day four in the quest for the Crucible.
11:39PM
For the second evening on the bounce, we've got a late night decider. Florian Nuessle takes us all the way and he is now level at 9-9 with Duane Jones. Who will hold their nerve and earn a second round clash with Ma Hailong?
11:14PM
More late night drama here at the EIS. Welshman Duane Jones was 5-1 up on Austrian number one Florian Nuessle earlier today, but he's been pegged back and now holds just a 9-8 advantage. Can he get over the line?
All other matches in this session are now completed. Here are the scores:
Evening Results
Bai Yulu 3-10 Liam Highfield
Haydon Pinhey 3-10 Ken Doherty
Ian Burns 10-4 Mink Nutcharut
Andrew Higginson 10-7 Ryan Thomerson
Duane Jones 9-8 Florian Nuessle (in play)
Liam Pullen 5-10 Gao Yang
Wang Yuchen 10-5 Brian Cini
Mostafa Dorgham 7-10 Simon Blackwell
9:29PM
"It's like a new romance."
Ken Doherty has switched away from the cue which he's had his whole career, in favour of a new one this week. It was red hot this afternoon and he will be hoping that form continues when he faces David Lilley in round two.
9:21PM
A 10-5 victory for Gao Yang means Liam Pullen will have to go to Q School if he wishes to appear on tour next season. Next up for Gao is a second round meeting with Chinese compatriot Tian Pengfei.
8:31PM
Victories for both Ken Doherty and Liam Highfield.
1997 Crucible King Doherty was denied a whitewash win by Haydon Pinhey, but he got over the line 10-3 to secure a second round meeting with David Lilley.
European Amateur Champion Highfield overcame Women's World Champion Bai Yulu by the same scoreline. He now faces He Guoqiang in round two.
Meanwhile, Liam Pullen's tour status is severely under threat. He must win to retain his tourcard, but trails WSF Champion Gao Yang 9-4.
7:00PM
With the evening session getting underway, here's a reminder of tonight's scores as they stand and a roundup of this afternoon:
Evening Scores
Bai Yulu 3-6 Liam Highfield
Haydon Pinhey 0-9 Ken Doherty
Ian Burns 5-4 Mink Nutcharut
Andrew Higginson 4-5 Ryan Thomerson
Duane Jones 6-3 Florian Nuessle
Liam Pullen 2-7 Gao Yang
Wang Yuchen 6-3 Brian Cini
Mostafa Dorgham 3-6 Simon Blackwell
Afternoon Scores
Joe Perry 4-5 Dylan Emery
Daniel Wells 5-4 Huang Jiahao
Aaron Hill 9-0 Haris Tahir
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 7-2 Mateusz Baranowski
Liu Hongyu 2-7 Mitchell Mann
Zak Surety 8-1 Antoni Kowalski
Stuart Carrington 4-4 Gong Chenzhi
Rory Thor 5-4 Hammad Miah
5:42PM
The afternoon session is beginning to draw to a close here. Aaron Hill is on the cusp of victory after finishing 9-0 up on Haris Tahir. Dylan Emery holds a narrow 5-4 lead over Joe Perry at the conclusion of their first session, while Zak Surety has stormed to an 8-1 lead over Antoni Kowalski.
All of these matches will conclude tomorrow afternoon from 2:30pm.
4:46PM
Magnificent stuff from Joe Perry. A total clearance of 134 draws him back level with Dylan Emery at 3-3. Can the Gentleman stave off tour relegation and potential relegation with victory?
Remember, you can watch the action live on discovery+/MAX in the UK and Europe. In all territories without a broadcast, the place to watch is WST PLAY.
4:15PM - Picture Gallery
Here's some of the latest snaps from this afternoon's action, where Daniel Wells now leads Huang Jiahao 3-2...
3:30PM
Dylan Emery takes the fourth frame to ensure he and Joe Perry head in for the mid-session all square at 2-2.
It's been a tough afternoon for Anton Kowalski so far, the Pole's bid to complete "Mission Impossible" and become the youngest ever World Champion is under threat. Zak Surety leads 4-0 on table six.
Breaks of 91 and 122 from Ishpreet Singh Chadha have helped him into a 3-0 lead over Mateusz Baranowski.
2:20PM
Former Welsh Open winner Joe Perry headlines the afternoon session, he goes up against Welshman Dylan Emery. With Perry in danger of dropping off the circuit, he has said he is considering retirement at the end of the season, could this be the Gentleman's last ever match on the professional stage?
Indian number one Ishpreet Singh Chadha also enters the fray this afternoon, he goes up against Poland's Mateusz Baranowski. Defeat for Singh Chadha could draw him into tour survival troubles, but he is currently placed in 64th position on the projected rankings.
2:09PM
That's the opening session in the books. A break of 72 from Mink Nutcharut in the final frame of the session keeps her in touch at 5-4 down to Ian Burns. Just 20 minutes to go until the second round gets underway here in Sheffield.
Full Morning Scores:
Bai Yulu 3-6 Liam Highfield
Haydon Pinhey 0-9 Ken Doherty
Ian Burns 5-4 Mink Nutcharut
Andrew Higginson 4-5 Ryan Thomerson
Duane Jones 6-3 Florian Nuessle
Liam Pullen 2-7 Gao Yang
Wang Yuchen 6-3 Brian Cini
Mostafa Dorgham 3-6 Simon Blackwell
These matches will return to be played to a conclusion from 7pm.
1:05PM
Ken Doherty is rolling back the years here in Sheffield. The 55-year-old is on the verge of victory in round one, leading Haydon Pinhey 9-0 after their first session. Can the Darling of Dublin complete the whitewash when they return tonight?
12:51PM
An enthralling session of snooker ends with European Amateur Champion Liam Highfield leading Womens' World Champion Bai Yulu 6-3. Both players put on a show for the fans inside the English Institute of Sport, with eight breaks of 50 or over across the nine frames played. They return to play to a conclusion at 7pm tonight.
Elsewhere WSF Champion Gao Yang is 5-2 up on Liam Pullenm, Ian Burns leads Mink Nutcharut 3-2 and Duane Jones is 5-2 up on Florian Nuessle.
11:50AM
Ken Doherty is off to a flying start, he leads Haydon Pinhey 4-0. Liam Highfield now has a 4-2 advantage against Bai Yulu.
Elsewhere, Mink Nutcharut is 2-1 up on Ian Burns and Duane Jones is beating Florian Nuessle 3-1.
11:44AM - Picture Gallery
11:00AM
It's been free flowing stuff on the main table. A further break of 79 had Liam Highfield three ahead, but Bai Yulu has responded with a run of 72 to make it 3-1 at the mid-session.
10:27AM
It's been a brilliant start for Liam Highfield. The Englishman has crafted breaks of 88 and 66 to move 2-0 up on Bai Yulu.
On table two, Ken Doherty has taken the opening frame against Haydon Pinhey on the pink.
10:00AM
The action begins this morning at the English Institute of Sport with Women's World Champion Bai Yulu taking on European Amateur Champion and Q Tour Playoff winner Liam Highfield in our featured game.
Table two sees 1997 Crucible king Ken Doherty face off against Haydon Pinhey, while Austrian number one Florian Nuessle is also in action against former German Masters semi-finalist Duane Jones.