Reigning World champion Mark Williams got the defence of his title under way with a confidence building 10-7 victory over the talented Martin Gould. 

Leading 6-3 from the morning session Williams won 3 of the first 4 frames of the evening to lead 9-4 but Gould roared back with breaks of 70, 76 and 87 to close the deficit to 9-7. Gould had the first chance in frame 17 but missed a straightforward yellow and Williams swooped in for victory.

Luca Brecel leads a tight encounter with Gary Wilson by 5 frames to 4 and this one promises to go all the way. Both players will feel they could of been 6-3 up but all os to play for tomorrow.

Crucible debutant Tian Pengfei leads Stephen Maguire by 5 frames to 4.Maguire will be disappointed as he built up a 4-2 lead but will still fancy his chances tomorrow.

Former World finalists Ding Junhui leads Anthony Mcgill 6-3. Ding will be happy with that first session as he has come into this year’s tournament woefully out of form but will be weary of a McGill comeback as he did exactly that in his final qualifying match as he battled back from 7-2 down to win 10-8

Today’s results 

Mark Williams 10-7 Martin Gould 

Neil Robertson 9-0 Michael Georgiou 

Tian Pengfei 5-4 Stephen Maguire 

Ding Junhui 6-3 Anthony McGill 

Luca Brecel 5-4 Gary Wilson