Jimmy White took advantage of a bizarre incident in the sixth frame of his match against Hossein Vafaei to complete a 4-2 win and book his place in the last 32 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open at the age of 62.
With the frame drifting towards the hour mark, Vafaei looked to have left himself in pole position to force a decider when he potted a long red after a misjudged safety from White had sent the cue ball into the bottom pocket.
However, referee Kevin Dabrowski called a foul, insisting Vafaei had not replaced the cue ball correctly inside the D, much to the surprise of both players, who tried to check the position by peering through the viewfinder of a nearby television camera.
However, Dabrowski remained adamant that his call was correct, handing the initiative to White, who duly wrapped up victory over the world number 24, extending a shock run that had seen him win two qualifying rounds just to reach the tournament proper.
Having viewed more footage of the incident after the match, White acknowledged that the cue ball looked "slightly out" of the D, while former world semi-finalist Alan McManus said Dabrowski had made the correct call.
"It was harsh on Hossein Vafaei, of course it was, but the referee was correct and it's down to the player to make sure he puts it in the D correctly," McManus told Eurosport.
Two-time champion Mark Allen delighted his home fans as he compiled three breaks over 70 in a 4-0 whitewash of China’s Liu Hongyu.
Earlier Neil Robertson won the battle of the former world champions against Graeme Dott.
It was a titanic struggle at the Waterfront Hall, with Robertson emerging a 4-3 winner after over three hours of play.
The Australian took the opening frame of a topsy-turvy contest before Dott won the next two, including an excellent break of 52 to pinch the third on the black.
Robertson settled with a break of 54 in the next, before a scrappy frame moved him one away from victory.
But 2006 world champion Dott wasn't done yet, forcing a decider in Belfast, which Robertson eventually won.
He now awaits the winner of the clash between Jack Lisowski and Wang Yuchen in the second round.
"That was great, great snooker from both of us. it had a really good mix of everything, some really good breaks and some brilliant safety play as well.
"Graeme is someone who, irrespective of his ranking, will get up for the big matches.
"It was just plants that I missed, really. Both times he made big breaks to clear up.
"From my point of view, I felt I didn't make too many unforced errors. That was pleasing and in the decider there I made Graeme earn all his chances. I thought I played a really good deciding frame."
Robertson, who slid down the rankings last year, compounded by missing out on the Crucible for the first time in 20 years, has looked more like his old self this season, winning the English Open last month for his first ranking title in over two years.
He is yet to win the Northern Ireland Open but reached the semi-finals in 2005 and again two years ago.
"If I get on a run anything could happen," he said of his prospects of a first title in Belfast.
"It's always nice to win one early, especially 4-3; you've come through a really tough test.
"It's the only one I've not won out of the Home Nations events so the motivation is really high. Great venue, great crowds, wonderful people here in Belfast, so there's every reason to want to stick around."
Jimmy White is in action later today against face Hossein Vafaei while home favourite Mark Allen will begin his pursuit of a third title in four seasons at the Waterfront Hall tonight against Liu Hongyu.
Seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the tournament for medical reasons yesterday, handing China’s Long Zehuang a first-round walkover.
Additional reporting: PA
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