Mark Allen survived an almighty scare to start his Welsh Open bid on the front foot with a slender 4-3 victory over teenage opponent Stan Moody.
The Antrim cueman was 2-0 and 3-2 down against his 18-year-old counterpart but fought back by winning the last two frames to secure his place in Round Two.
In a First Round when defending champion Gary Wilson was knocked out by Ishpreet Singh Chadha, Allen showed his steel to avoid a similar fate against rising star Moody, who is 20 years his junior and currently No.72 in the World Rankings.
Moody hit two half-centuries to clinch the first two frames, and while Allen hit back to level the match-up at two frames apiece, he found himself on the brink of an early exit after Halifax-born Moody edged 3-2 in front with a break of 64.
But World No.8 Allen again hit back to even it up at 3-3 and take it to a deciding frame, which he won in one visit to set up a last-32 clash with China’s Yuan Sijun.
Allen’s fellow Antrim native Jordan Brown, who defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan 9-8 in the 2021 Welsh Open Final to clinch his one and only ranking title to date, kickstarts his bid for fresh glory in the tournament against David Gilbert on Tuesday.