The 15-million-baht Players Championship got underway at the Montien Riverside Hotel yesterday with Mark King springing the first surprise of the event with a 4-2 victory over Barry Hawkins.
Mark King in action against Barry Hawkins.
In the other matches of the opening session, world No.36 Matthew Selt recorded a 4-1 triumph over 81st ranked Oliver Lines and No.25 Michael Holt defeated No.44 Jimmy Robertson.
English world No.33 King looked in a fine nick in his opening match of the tournament that offers five million baht to the winner.
After successfully snookering No.5 Hawkins twice, King had a run of 56 points that earned him the opening frame.
However, the low scoring second frame ended in a 47-29 win for Hawkins after King conceded following three successive snookers.
King potted with ease in third and fourth frames and breaks of 72, 60 and 78 were not only enough to give him a 3-1 advantage but also to keep the opponent pinned to his seat.
A couple of snookers and a break of 37 points helped Hawkins narrow the margin, but King would not let it slip through his hands and sealed the fate of the match with a 64-point run in the sixth frame for a 4-2 victory.
The local interest in the event is likely to get ignited tonight when the mercurial but immensely gifted Thepchaiya Un-nooh begins his campaign.
Thepchaiya is fresh from a memorable run in the India Open where he became the only second Thai player after James Wattana to qualify for the semi-finals of a world ranking tournament.
His opening fixture is not likely to be a joyride for the talented Thai as he has been drawn to face resurgent former world professional champion Mark Williams in the last 32 stage.
The short best-of-seven frame format being used for the Players Championship favours Thepchaiya, but only if his potting works as expected.
The world professional ranking Players Championship brings together the top 24 players from the World Snooker-organised European Tour Order of Merit and top eight contestants from the Asian Tour.
The last 32 round matches continue today with the first session starting at 2.30pm and the second at 7.30pm.