David Gilbert made an unbeaten start to the defence of his Championship League title to reach the last 32 at Leicester's Morningside Arena.
Gilbert enjoyed two 3-0 wins over Florian Nuessle and Zak Surety respectively before claiming the 2-2 draw he needed against Joe O'Connor – making runs of 78 and 100 – to win Group 16 on seven points, one points clear of Nuessle.
Ad/> Gilbert joins Xiao Guodong and Robert Milkins in Group H for the second stage of the season's first ranking event on Tuesday.
Championship League'Maybe win a tournament' – Clarke shocks Trump at Championship LeagueYESTERDAY AT 21:33 “It’s a weird one being back, my game isn’t very good at the minute but I’m really happy to get through," said Gilbert, who lifted his first ranking title with a 3-1 win over Mark Allen in last season's final. /> «The aim for this year, and every year, is to try and get in the Players Championship.” Northern Irishman Jordan Brown topped Group 19 with a 2-2 draw and a 3-0 win over Ross Muir with a 3-1 victory and 2-2 against Mark Davis seeing him progress on eight points.