Matthew Stevens defeated Welsh compatriot Ryan Day 3-1 in the final match of the day to end top of Group 25, while Yuan Sijun was comfortable in winning Group 18 at the BetVictor Championship League ranking event.
Stevens and Yuan advance to the second phase, which starts on July 18th. That will see 32 players vying for spots in the third and final stage.
Former UK and Masters champion Stevens opened his day with a 3-1 win over Asia/Oceania Q School graduate Xu Yichen. However, after a 2-2 draw with Lan Yuhao, Stevens knew he would have to win his last game with Ryan Day to come through.
Day made breaks of 138 and 103 on his way to winning his first two games, meaning a draw would be enough to see him progress. It wasn't to be for the 2022 British Open winner, as Stevens fired in runs of 80 and 58 on his way to a vital 3-1 win.
Yuan enjoyed a perfect day, scoring a trio of 3-0 wins over Stuart Carrington, Alexander Ursenbacher and Sanderson Lam to win his group.
Tomorrow sees stage one continue, with the likes of Wu Yize and Ricky Walden in action.
