David Gilbert, the 2019 semi-finalist from England, defeated China’s Xiao Guodong 10-6, while Si Jiahui of China made a comeback from being 4-0 down to beat fellow countryman Wu Yize 10-4. Joe O’Connor qualified for the first time and will be the only debutant at this year’s competition after winning 10-8 against Matthew Selt in a late match that finished at 23:30 BST.
In the early stages of the tournament, Iran’s Hossein Vafaei faced a tough challenge from 18-year-old Jiang Jun from China. However, Vafaei managed to recover and won 10-5, securing his place at the Crucible for a third successive year. Pang Junxu of China also made a successful comeback to the Crucible with a 10-8 victory over compatriot Cao Yupeng. Despite his loss in the qualifiers, Saengkham may still earn the £15,000 high break prize after scoring a maximum 147 break in his third qualifying round match against Andy Hicks.