Liang gave his army of fans plenty to cheer about but admitted it wasn’t all straight forward.

“I was a little nervous before my match tonight but you have to face your challenges. I took sometime to settle but it was a tough match and I’m happy to have won,” said the Chinese player.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings and has qualified for the Crucible in each of the last two seasons. Last year he faced compatriot, Ding Junhui at the famous venue. He led 8-7 before finally going down 10-8 but showed he has the quality to match his more famous opponent.

The qualifying match had been held over to the TV stage and was the star attraction for the audience at the Grand Stage. The first four frames were shared with Liang managing a top break of 82.

The fifth frame was a 37 minute tactical battle as both players sought an advantage, eventually it was the Chinese player who forged the opening and took the frame with a run of 40 and then extended his lead with a 74 in the next.

Gilbert had come into the event with renewed optimisim after hardly touching his cue over the summer but recorded two wins in the qualifying event to secure his flight to the Far East.

The Tamworth potter looked set to reduce his arrears in frame seven when he opened with a 63 but when he broke down the youngster from Hei Longjiang coolly stroked in the remaining two reds and all the colours to clinch the frame on the black.

He now faces Peter Ebdon.

Matthew Selt earned a television debut with a resounding 5-0 victory over Shi Hanqing, reaching the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time. The Essex potter will face the biggest match of his career so far, against Betfred.com World Champion John Higgins, tomorrow evening.

Selt is accustomed to playing the big names – his practice partners include Ronnie o’Sullivan and Neil Robertson – but the 24-year-old is well aware of the challenge he faces against Higgins.

“It’s a big step for me,” said Selt, who rattled in breaks of 80, 128, 104 and 73 today. “It will be my first time on TV so I just want to see if I can produce my form.

“Practising with Ronnie has taught me a lot, I’ve learned patterns on how to make breaks, which is a big help. I scored well tonight and felt comfortable even though it’s the biggest venue I’ve played at.”

Gerard Greene faces the long haul back to the UK with a 5-4 defeat to Li Yan to ponder. Kent-based Greene led 3-0 after a top break of 75, and later 4-2.

But Chinese wild card Li won the next with a 71, nicked the eighth on the black and won the decider 63-14 to set up a match with Ryan Day.

Nigel Bond had to work hard for his 5-4 win over China’s Yu Delu. In the final frame Yu looked favourite when he cleared to the brown but surprisingly missed the match ball blue.

Bond took full advantage when he potted the blue but still had a difficult shot on the pink which was in baulk. He cut the pink into the yellow pocket and sent the cue ball the length of the table to finish comfortably on the black with which he made no mistake.

“I was ready to shake his hand at that point. He could have rolled the blue in from my viewpoint but instead he tried to stun it and that gave me a chance,” said Bond.

The 43-year-old had earlier established a 3-0 lead with runs of 58, 81 and 49. Yu hit back with 65 and 45 to claim two frames and looked set to level in the sixth when he led 68-7 but Bond was given another chance and seized it with a total clearance of 64 to pinch it on the black.

Yu took a scrappy seventh frame and made it all square with an 84. Bond now faces Marco Fu in first round.

Courtesy: World Snooker