Ding Junhui reached the last 16 of the Halo World Championship for the first time in five years with a 10-7 victory over Zak Surety, who set a new record for the most centuries by a Crucible debutant.
Ding had lost his opening match at the Crucible in each of the last four years, but has finally broken that streak and is into the second round for the 12th time. The world number ten, who won his first ranking title in five years at the International Championship earlier this season, will meet Luca Brecel or Ryan Day next. He will be one of at least five Chinese players in the last 16 - a record - and the 38-year-old remains the only man from his country to have reached a world final, having finished runner-up to Mark Selby in 2016.
Surety may be heading back to Essex but he takes away his own piece of Crucible history as the only player to make four centuries on his debut. Nervy in the early stages, he fell 4-0 behind and that was too big a gap to recover, but he showed his break-building quality and the World Open semi-finalist underlined why he is considered one of the most improved players on the tour this season. Only Ryan Day in 2004 and Jackson Page in 2022 had previously compiled three centuries on their debuts.
Trailing 6-3 after Monday's first session, Surety hit back this afternoon, winning three of the first four frames with breaks of 109, 136 and 110 to close to 7-6. Ding made an 86 in frame 14 before Surety took the 15th with a run of 50 to stay in touch at 8-7. But 15-time ranking event winner Ding finished strongly, making a century of his own with a 116 then a 75 in frame 17 to wrap up the tie.
"There was big pressure when Zak made the centuries, he was winning the frame every time he got a chance," said Ding. "I didn't pot a ball for a long time but I tried to focus on my game and then scored when I got chances. I will try my best in the second round, I can be more relaxed now because in the last few years I have lost in the first round.
"I would love to see a Chinese player win the title, it would be great for Chinese snooker and for the young players and fans, it will help more people to start playing."
Surety said: "It's a shame I gave Ding such a big head start because I felt brilliant out there today. It's nice to go away with the centuries record but it would have been nicer to win the match. I was nervous early on and couldn't settle. I am the biggest snooker nerd so I have heard all the stories of how players feel when they first come here. I was waiting for the nerves myself, once I started playing it felt as if the arena was getting smaller and everything was on top of me.
"I made a century to go 6-3 and I felt relaxed last night, then today I settled in straight away. At 8-7 I potted a long red but didn't get position then played a bad safety and left Ding a chance. That was my biggest mistake because it wasn't a hard shot. I can walk away now with my head held high and desperate to get back here. At 4-0 down I was wondering if I really belong because I couldn't pot two balls in a row."