With pre-tournament favourites Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan suffering early exits, former world champion John Higgins firmly put his name forward as a possible candidate to lift the World Championship trophy for a fifth time.
Lisowski thrashed by confident Higgins
Higgins had eased into an 8-0 against Jack Lisowski overnight and continued his impeccable form with a break of 55 at the start of the second session. The world number five then went 10-0 ahead before Lisowski finally got on the board with an 81 break in frame eleven.
Yet breaks of 100 and 73 by last year's runner-up were sandwiched around a tournament-high 146 as Higgins cruised to a 13-1 victory. He now awaits the winner of a tight contest between Ricky Walden and Judd Trump in the quarter-finals.
Trump locked in a close contest again
Trump struggled to a final frame deciding victory in the opening round and continues to look rusty against the qualifier. An opening break of 101 was not enough to spark Trump into some form as he lost three in succession with Walden hitting 90 in frame three.
A break of 50 before a tactical success in frame six helped Trump draw level before the duo exchanged frames and half-centuries to end the opening session locked at 4-4. Yet Walden returned to the table in smooth form, winning frame nine with a break of 52 despite a rerack and then restoring his two-frame lead in frame ten.
Trump needed to find a spark and he finally ignited in the next frame. A break of 100 inspired confidence before a 103 tied the contest again at 6-6 before the mid-session interval.
However, Walden stole an advantage once again, responding to a half-century by Trump to win frame 13 on the final black. 53 in the next was enough for the world number four to level the tie for the fifth time but he soon dropped back as Walden jumped on a missed opportunity in the following frame. Yet the last battle followed the rhythm of the contest as Trump tied the match again with a break of 68.
McGill blown away in opening session
Asia have never had a snooker world champion but this could be their year considering the form Ding Junhui is showing. A break of 102 sparked an incredible run where the China number one made 81, 126, 64, 75 and 99 contributions as his opponent Anthony McGill scored just eight points in six frames. Ding then concluded the session 8-0 ahead with a break of 73.
The world number three was not quite a smooth in the evening session but still won the opening frame. However, McGill finally enjoyed a spell at the table as he hit back with breaks of 52, 74 and 97 to win the three in a row.
Ding responded with the next two frames, the first after a break of 66, as both players missed a series of chances. Yet McGill took frame 15 to ensure the contest went to the third session before a break of 113 put Ding one frame away from the quarter-finals at the end of play with the score reading 12-4.