Aaron Hill secured a spot in August's Wuhan Open this afternoon but it turned out to be a baptism of fire for Fergal Quinn and Leone Crowley on their WST debuts.
Hill comfortably saw off England's Sam Craigie 5-1 with four breaks over 50. The Cork native, who starts the new season at a career high of 50 in the world rankings, raced into a 4-0 lead before Craigie stopped the rot.
But 23-year-old Hill won the next frame to secure a place at the tournament proper, alongside Antrim's Jordan Brown, who beat Duane Jones 5-1 yesterday.
It wasn't to be for Fergal Quinn who lost out 5-0 to world number 46 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who had a high break of 95. The defeat to the Thai was Quinn's first match since securing a tour card at Q School earlier this month.
Elsewhere, fellow debutant Leone Crowley also lost 5-0 to 2010 world champion Neil Robertson. Crowley secured his spot on the tour earlier this year by winning the WSF Junior Championship in Morocco, but The Thunder from Down Under looked sharp, winning the match with a century along the way in frame two.
Ken Doherty is due to be in qualifier action tomorrow against Ben Woollaston.
