Judd Trump made a winning start in the Six Red World Championship in Thailand with a 5-0 whitewash of Ricky Walden on Monday.
Trump, playing in the event for the first time since 2015, wasted no time in clinching the Group D opener which puts him on the cusp of the last 16.
Trump is taking nothing for granted as he plans to build momentum ahead of his bid for a second world title at the Crucible next month.
He told World Snooker Tour: “The standard is incredibly tough and I think that is the case this season more than ever.
“It has been the widest open season heading into the World Championship. I know we say that all the time, but this one really is.
“There have been a lot of first-time winners and a lot of people you don’t expect in the top events. There is carnage going on in the rankings at the moment and that makes for an interesting end of the season.”
Hossein Vafaei booked his place in the next stage after beating John Higgins 5-1, but defending champion Stephen Maguire crashed out after successive 5-2 defeats to Ding Junhui and Zhang Anda.
