Steve Davis is determined to keep his record as the oldest man to appear at The Crucible after qualifying for the World Championships.
The 52-year-old will now make his 30th appearance at the sport's showpiece event following his 10-4 victory over Adrian Gunnell in final qualifying.
The six-time champion led 6-1 before two century breaks by his 37-year-old opponent cut the deficit.
However, 'The Nugget' dug deep to win four of the next five frames to advance to the televised stage of the tournament in Sheffield.
Davis was delighted with his performance and the Plumstead-born star feels that being the oldest player to compete at the famous Crucible Theatre is one thing he has over great rival Stephen Hendry.
"It's my competition and Stephen knows about it," he said. "If he wants to carry on playing he's got to beat me turning up at the Crucible.
“He's now got to be there at 53. He's the best player there's ever been in my opinion but I've still got one record he's going to find hard to beat.
"That's my driving force and I've put another year on it now.
“Every appearance is special. No-one can guarantee you'll ever be there again. It's massive, so exciting."
Elsewhere there were some big-name casualties with two-time finalist Matthew Stevens missing out on Sheffield following a 10-9 defeat to Marcus Campbell.
Another two-time semi-finalist, Alan McManus, also crashed out, losing 10-7 to Ireland's Fergal O'Brien, while Mark Davis beat Dave Harold 10-7.
Liang Wenbo hammered Rod Lawler 10-2, while 1997 champion Ken Doherty faces Joe Swail on Monday and 2006 winner Graeme Dott plays Jimmy Michie on Tuesday.