Mark Allen overcame a slow start to run out a convincing 10-7 winner against John Higgins on day one of the Tour Championship.
Higgins had taken four frames in a row during the first session but the pair ended it level at 4-4, setting up a potentially long opening night in Manchester.
At 6-6 that remained on the cards but Allen stepped up a gear to take four of the following five frames to book a place in round two of a reformatted event, which this year sees the field expand from eight players to 12.
Allen, seeded five, effectively had his task made more difficult by the expansion which means he would need to play a game more than the top four seeds to reach the final.
Next for the beaten 2020 finalist is a meeting with Ding Junhui and on this display, which featured three centuries from the Northern Irishman, he might take some stopping.
Also on Monday, Gary Wilson and Mark Williams edged into 5-3 leads over Mark Selby and Tom Ford respectively.
Ford bagged two centuries despite trailing to Williams, while Selby took the final frame of the session to avoid falling further behind against Wilson.
Both matches resume on Tuesday, when Barry Hawkins and Ali Carter will begin their encounter.