Ding Junhui continued his fine form from qualifying as Martin Gould became the fifth seed to be knocked out in the opening round.
Ding wins an epic contest
In a first session full of quality, the qualifier raced into a 4-1 lead with breaks of 90, 110, 54 and 87. Yet German Masters champion Gould had shown glimpses of his class with a 65 break in the third frame and he soon responded as he took control of the match.
Gould went on to win seven of the next nine frames to edge 8-6 ahead as the pendulum swung towards the seed. A break of 111 was his best combination, although frame fourteen was arguably his highlight of the match when he produced three snookers to take a two frame advantage.
Yet the drama did not end there as the man from China produced breaks of 132, 86 and 100 in three of his following four consecutive frame victories to win the match and earn a second round berth.
Allen and Hawkins cruise through
Earlier in the day, Mark Allen continued his domination of World Championship debutant Mitchell Mann as he turned a 6-3 overnight lead into a 10-3 victory. Mann managed just 30 points as Allen ran away with the contest within an hour and a half.
Barry Hawkins was another man not in the mood to hang about, as he also converted a 6-3 overnight lead. Hawkins won four out of six frames in the second session against Zhang Anda, producing half century breaks in three of them, before rounding off the victory in style with a 141 production that is currently the highest break of the tournament. Hawkins faces Ronnie O'Sullivan in the next round.
Trump in trouble
There are just two first round matches to be completed tomorrow, both involving seeds who are in danger of going out of the competition. China Open champion Judd Trump finds himself 6-3 behind against an inspired Liang Wenbo.
The man from China did not allow Trump to score a single point in the opening two frames, as he produced breaks of 117 and 107. Trump hit back with the next two frames, but Wenbo ran away with the session as he won four of the final five frames to put himself in pole position on Thursday afternoon.
Perry and Wilson going down to the wire
World number ten Joe Perry looked to be in great form against young starlet Kyren Wilson, as he won the opening two frames with breaks of 87 and 63. Yet Wilson has enjoyed a fantastic season and struck back with 130 in the third frame.
Perry made a break of 80 to restore his two frame advantage, before Wilson dug deep to win four of the next five frames with three half century breaks, to lead 5-4 going into the final session on Thursday.