Neil Robertson suffered an early elimination from the Championship League as fellow former world champion Ken Doherty rolled back the years to progress to stage two.
Veteran Irishman Doherty, 51, beat the seeded Robertson 3-1 en route to topping Group 17 in Milton Keynes.
The 1997 Crucible winner later defeated Andrew Higginson 3-0, a victory clinched with a break of 109, before a 2-2 draw with Eden Sharav denied him a 100 per cent record.
👏 @kendoherty1997's day so far: ✅ 3-1 win over Neil Robertson✅ 3-0 win over Andrew Higginson Top of the group and good value at that!#ChampionshipLeagueSnooker pic.twitter.com/kEhB0ytQCD — Championship League Snooker (@CLSnooker) September 28, 2020
Anthony McGill, the other seeded player in action on Monday, joined Robertson in suffering a premature departure following a winless display, with Switzerland's Alexander Ursenbacher advancing from Group 11.
Stage one of the tournament at Stadium MK features 32 groups of four players, with the group winners qualifying for round two.
After defeat to eventual table-topper Doherty, Australian Robertson produced two centuries in his second match but was held to a 2-2 draw by Sharav before making another ton in overcoming Higginson 3-0 to finish second.
Third-placed Higginson missed a red on 96 while attempting a maximum break in the final frame of his 3-1 success over winless Israeli Sharav.
1️⃣2️⃣4️⃣ @nr147 makes his second century in a row to lead Eden Sharav and it was a special clearance at that #ChampionshipLeagueSnooker pic.twitter.com/J5psP6Xb0f — Championship League Snooker (@CLSnooker) September 28, 2020
On the other table, Crucible semi-finalist McGill was held to 2-2 draws by German Lukas Kleckers and Ursenbacher, either side of losing 3-0 to world number 93 Riley Parsons.
Group winner Ursenbacher began by beating 20-year-old Englishman Parsons 3-1, before whitewashing Kleckers, and finishing a productive appearance with the tie against Scotsman McGill.
The Swiss player moves into Group C of the second stage, which already includes 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham and China's Zhao Xintong.
McGill ended bottom of the group after the Group 11 action concluded with a 2-2 draw between Parsons and Kleckers.
