BOLTON's Tony Knowles made his first step on the long road back to the Crucible with victory in the £1.6million Embassy World Championship qualifiers at Harrogate.
The former world number two, three-times a semi-finalist in snooker's biggest event, beat 16-year-old Northern Ireland hopeful Mark Allen 5-2 in the sixth qualifying round.
Knowles, 47, is currently 144th in the world and needs to win 10 matches to return to the Crucible, where he reached the last four in 1983, 1985 and 1986.
The Bolton veteran provided glimpses of his old form however as he compiled breaks of 64, 78 and 67 to beat Allen and set up a match with Scottish world number 164 Craig MacGillivray.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article