Ronnie O'Sullivan fended off a determined challenge from Fergal O'Brien to secure a first-round victory at the China Open.
The world No1 trailed 2–1 and despite winning the next two frames was then pegged back to 3-3 by O'Brien, who has failed to qualify for this month's world championships.
O'Sullivan, however, produced breaks of 55 and 54 to take the next two frames and secure a 5–3 win, setting up a clash with the 20-year-old Chinese player Xiao Guodong, who was a surprise first-round winner against Ding Junhui.
"At 3–3 I could have been on my way home but experience tells me never to panic or worry," O'Sullivan said.
"I always have faith that if I can find another gear I can pull away, and turn a 50-50 situation into a 90-10 in my favour. If I play decent I always like my chances. I was a bit loose today, I haven't played many matches lately so it would be good to win a few here to get some match sharpness," he told worldsnooker.com.
The world champion is seeking his second ranking-title of the campaign, having already won the Northern Ireland Trophy.
Stephen Hendry recorded an encouraging victory over Robert Milkins, beating the Englishman 5–3. The seven-time former Crucible winner has endured a tough season and enjoyed little success by his own high standards. His next match, against Ricky Walden, could provide a tough challenge for the 40-year-old Scot.
There were also wins for Mark Selby, who beat fellow Englishman Stephen Lee 5–1, and for Mark King, a 5–2 winner against the Welshman Mark Williams.
Earlier in the day, Shaun Murphy lost just one frame as he breezed through to the second round. His opponent, Cao Xinlong, benefited from John Parrott's withdrawal which handed him a bye through the wild-card round but in the end he had little to offer against Murphy, who powered through his opening match to win 5–1 and set up a last-16 clash with the Australian Neil Robertson.
Scotland's Graeme Dott, who won the world title in 2006, a year after Murphy's Crucible triumph, also advanced to the second round. Like Murphy, he was facing Chinese opposition, and he won 5–3 against Yu Delu.
There was a Chinese winner however, and a surprise one, as the 21-year-old Tian Pengfei overcame Hong Kong's Marco Fu 5–2. England's Stuart Pettman beat Northern Ireland's Mark Allen 5-3 in the day's other early match.
