Mark Allen launched his bid to win the BetVictor Welsh Open for the first time as he battled back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to beat Stan Moody 4-3 in the last 64 in Llandudno.
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Allen has been ever-present in this tournament since 2006 but surprisingly has just one semi-finalist appearance, in 2016. The 11-time ranking event winner will hope to improve that record this week and cleared the first hurdle with an excellent break in the deciding frame against teenager Moody.
Winner of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in December and a semi-finalist at the recent Johnstone's Paint Masters, Northern Ireland's Allen is looking to continue his sequence of deep runs and will face Yuan Sijun in the last 32 on Wednesday at Venue Cymru.
Moody made a confident start with breaks of 59 and 95 to win the first two frames. The 18-year old had chances in frame three but couldn't take them, and Allen snatched it on the colours, then made a delightful 138 total clearance for 2-2. A run of 64 helped Moody regain the lead, but he lost a scrappy 39-minute sixth. In the decider, Moody was first among the balls and made 29 before missing a red to a baulk corner. World number eight Allen seized his chance with a match-winning 67.
"Stan started really well to go 2-0 up," said 38-year-old Allen. "I hung in there and played some decent stuff to get back into it. I had to rely on him making a few mistakes towards the end. I'm relieved to get through. I didn't expect him to miss the red in the last frame, I made a good break from there and I'm pleased to close it out that way. I haven't practised as hard as I usually do for this event but I have a day off tomorrow to try to be ready for Wednesday."
John Higgins was outstanding in a 4-0 win over Graeme Dott, firing breaks of 113, 60 and 107. Elliot Slessor was also on the right side of a 4-0 scoreline, beating Liam Davies with a top run of 105.
Robert Milkins, who won this title two years ago but has since failed to go beyond the quarter-finals of any event, enjoyed a much-needed 4-1 win over Wang Yuchen.