Fergal O'Brien breathed a sigh of relief after chalking up his first victory of the season in Preston yesterday. The Dubliner ignored his poor start to the campaign to post a 5-1 win over Bristol's Mark Johnston-Allen in the first round of the £370,000 Grand Prix.

"It wasn't a particularly pretty performance but I got the result and that's what matters most at the moment," said world number 20 O'Brien, who goes forward to face Stephen Lee on Saturday for a spot in the last 16.