Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White will meet in a tantalising last 64 clash at the Coral Northern Ireland Open after both secured wins on day one in Belfast.

The Rocket wasted little time in his 4-1 victory over world number 117 David John. The five-time World Champion took just under an hour to secure the win which included runs of 131, 86 and 133.  That set up a first ranking meeting with the Whirlwind since the 2010 World Open.

O’Sullivan remarked: “Jimmy’s one of my best mates on the circuit. He’s a great player. I’m just enjoying playing at the moment. It doesn’t matter who I’m against, but I haven’t played Jimmy in a long time.

White secured his second round berth with a tense 4-2 defeat of Welshman Gareth Allen. The Whirlwind trailed 57-19 in the opener before making a classic counter clearance of 47 to go 1-0 ahead. He snatched the second frame on the final ball as well, holding his nerve to clear the colours. As the game progressed it became more tense. With White leading 3-2, both players missed chances as the balls went into tight positions. However, it was White who eventually got over the line to seal his place in the last 64.

John Higgins extended his winning streak to nine matches with a 4-0 demolition of Paul Davison. The Wizard of Wishaw’s season has burst into life over the last couple of weeks, claiming back to back titles at the inaugural China Championship and the Champion of Champions event where he beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final.

Higgins made contributions of 71, 70 and 107 as he made light work of the world number 92.

“I’m feeling really good,” said Higgins. “I know every tournament is different but I kept playing roughly the same way that I’ve done in the last couple of tournaments so really pleasing.

Luca Brecel recorded one of the best wins of his career against Shaun Murphy. The talented Belgian played some inspired snooker as he limited his opponent to just eight points throughout the match.

The 21-year-old made contributions of 83, 83, 117 and 55 to progress. Until now last year’s German Masters runner-up Brecel had struggled to find his best form in 2016/17. However, a win over Jamie Cope in the last 64 will ensure his best run of the campaign.

Jordan Brown delighted the home crowds with victory over Ben Woollaston. There was a vocal contingent of Brown supporters in the Titanic Exhibition Centre and they could be heard around the arena after their man made a 102 clearance to go 2-0 up. Woollaston fought back but with the scores at 2-2 Brown held his nerve to take the fifth on the black. That proved to be the crucial moment as he ran out a 4-2 winner.

Michael Wild lost to Adam Duffy by 2-4.Judd Trump gave walkover to Peter Ebdon. Allister Carter also gave walkover to Hamza Akbar. Kurt Dunham beats Christopher Keogan by 4-2 to enter in second round match and will play against Scott Donaldson who beats Robert Milkins by 4-1 in easy match in first round.

Sanderson Lam defeated Wang Yuchen in one sided match by 4-1. Zak Surety overcame the stiff challenge of Darryl Hill by 4-3.Hossein Vafaei Ayouri beats Rod Lawler in another thriller by 4-3.

Kurt Maflin beats Zhang Yong by 4-2 to go through to the second round. Alex Borg beats Dechawat Poomjaeng by identical score of 4-2. Mike Dunn lost to Josh Boileau by 3-4. Fergal O’Brien defeated Tian Pengfei by 4-2.

Mitchell Mann beats Thor Chuan Leong convincingly by 4-1. Zhang Anda blanked Ian Preece by 4-0. Chris Wakelin beats seasoned player James Wattana by 4-1. Akani Songsermsawad beats Cao Yupeng by 4-1. Mark Davis outclassed Jason Weston by 4-0.

Zhou Yuelong beats Matthew Stevens by 4-3 in a close match. Allan Taylor beats Li Hang by 4-2.  Sam Craigie crushed Jamie Jones by 4-0. Jamie Cope beats Adam Stefanow by 4-2. Michael White blanked Graeme Dott 4-0. Chen Zhe beats Ross Muir by 4-1.

Michael Holt continues his good form in first round match to win the hard fought match by 4-3 against Stuart Carrington. Barry Hawkins shows his class in dismissing Martin O’Donnell by 4-0. Jimmy Robertson beats Elliot Slessor by 4-2. Joe Perry convincingly beats Itaro Santos by 4-0.