World number one Mark Selby was given a tough ride by Scott Donaldson in his first-round match of the English Open in Barnsley before coming through 4-3.
Donaldson, the 23-year-old world number 65, produced clearances of 121, 72 and 57 as he moved 3-2 ahead.
Selby regained momentum against the Scot after an unanswered run of 124 levelled the match before closing out victory.
Later on Tuesday, Ronnie O'Sullivan coasted past Zhang Anda. The five-time world champion, sporting a pair of running trainers, moved 3-0 ahead before another impressive break of 89 sealed his 4-1 win.
Ding Junhui, the current world number two, defeated Christopher Keogan 4-1, but world number six Marco Fu suffered an unexpected early exit, beaten 4-1 by Tian Pengfei of China.
Scotland's Stephen Maguire went down 4-0 against Robert Milkins, but Thailand's James Wattana progressed with a 4-2 win over Martin O'Donnell although there was also disappointment for Anthony Hamilton who was beaten 4-2 by Switzerland's Alexander Ursenbacher.
Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, lost 4-1 to Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene, Alan McManus was edged out 4-3 by fellow Scot Rhys Clark while England's Joe Perry lost 4-1 to Chinese player Yuan Sijun.
Elsewhere, Australian Neil Robertson, the world number eight, coasted past Billy Joe Castle 4-0, Mark Williams beat David Grace, but another former world champion Peter Ebdon lost 4-2 against Ben Woollaston.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 17
First round (best of seven frames)
- Robert Milkins 4-0 Stephen Maguire (Match 32)
- Matthew Selt 4-2 Alfie Burden (Match 34)
- Craig Steadman 4-3 Robin Hull (Match 38)
- James Wattana 4-2 Martin O'Donnell (Match 41)
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-2 Kurt Maflin (Match 49)
- Marco Fu 1-4 Tian Pengfei (Match 52)
- Mike Dunn 4-2 Alex Borg (Match 62)
- Lyu Haotian 4-1 Allan Taylor (Match 9)
- Luca Brecel 4-1 Ryan Day (Match 24)
- Rhys Clark 4-3 Alan McManus (Match 28)
- John J Astley 4-2 Paul S Davison (Match 42)
- Ken Doherty 1-4 Gerard Greene (Match 44)
- Michael Georgiou 1-4 Hammad Miah (Match 53)
- Mark Selby 4-3 Scott Donaldson (Match 67)
- Ding Junhui 4-1 Christopher Keogan (Match 36)
- Yuan SiJun 4-1 Joe Perry (Match 43)
- Anthony Hamilton 2-4 Alexander Ursenbacher (Match 45)
- Stuart Carrington 4-1 Boonyarit Keattikun (Match 46)
- Zhou Yuelong v Andrew Higginson W/O (Match 55)
- Mark King 2-4 Fang Xiongman (Match 57)
- Dominic Dale 1-4 Daniel Wells (Match 50)
- Martin Gould 1-4 Zhao Xintong (Match 58)
- Hossein Vafaei 4-2 Niu Zhuang (Match 59)
- Josh Boileau 0-4 David Gilbert (Match 23)
- Lukas Kleckers 1-4 Michael White (Match 37)
- David Grace 1-4 Mark Williams (Match 25)
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Zhang Anda (Match 31)
- Ben Woollaston 4-2 Peter Ebdon (Match 39)
- Thor Chuan Leong 4-1 Graeme Dott (Match 60)
- Cao Yupeng 4-1 Hamza Akbar (Match 61)
- Sam Baird 3-4 Ross Muir (Match 66)
- Neil Robertson 4-0 Billy Joe Castle (Match 15)
- Jak Jones 2-4 Ricky Walden (Match 65)