Ken Doherty has switched away from the cue which he used to become Crucible king in 1997, but admits he's fallen in love with his new one after he thrashed Haydon Pinhey 10-3 at Halo World Championship Qualifying.
Click here for day three as it happened
The 55-year-old is bidding for a first Crucible appearance since 2014 this week, having lost three times in the final round of qualifying since then. Victory today moves him within three games of a return, next up he faces David Lilley.
The afternoon session saw Doherty blitz clear with breaks of 63 and 98 on his way to moving 9-0 ahead. The evening session saw Pinhey pull three back, but it was to no avail as Doherty made 59 to get over the line in the 13th.
"I've been thinking about changing cue for a while. I just thought, what have I got to lose? I just felt I was losing the power in my old one. I got this one made, there is a lot more power and I'm happy with it. I've only had it three or four weeks, but you get a bit excited, it is like a new toy. I'll see how it progresses," said six-time ranking event winner Doherty.
"It is like a new romance, after you've been with someone for a long time and all of a sudden you find a new romance. I'm not sure how long it will last and there might be a break up! We will see how it goes. At the moment the cue and I are still in love.
"To qualify would be amazing. I think if I did it that would be the final farewell. The Crucible and I have had a long romance together, I love going there and I love the World Championship. I love playing in the World Seniors there and it is a wonderful venue."
Recently crowned European Amateur Champion and Q Tour Playoff winner Liam Highfield stormed to a 10-3 win over Women's World Champion Bai Yulu to secure his progression.
Highfield will return to the World Snooker Tour next season after his exploits on the amateur circuit. He will be a formidable force going from his performance today, which saw him knock in breaks of 88, 68, 79, 83, 61, 53, 51 and 61. He will now face He Guoqiang in the second round.
Liam Pullen was relegated from the circuit after a 10-5 loss to WSF Champion Gao Yang, while Ian Burns defeated former Women's World Champion Mink Nutcharut 10-4.