Horden's John Bourne edged a tight battle with Tom Feenan of Steels to progress to the last 16 of Lumley Snooker Club's £1,100 32-man invitation handicap tournament.
The first five frames were scrappy, with the pink and black balls tied up too often.
But the match opened up when Bourne comfortably won 73-17 to level matters at 3-3.
Bourne took the seventh frame 55-31, putting the pressure on his Sunderland
opponent, who led by 22 in the eight on the yellow. But he failed to make the most of a good snookering opportunity, with Bourne capitalising by cleaning up the colours for a 5-3 success.
Frame scores (Bourne first): 54-17, 47-49, 30-60, 52-21, 27-62, 73-17, 55-31, 54-49
Last Thursday's clash between Teessiders Richie Beckham and Rob Wilson was cancelled.
Tonight, Stockton's John Stiff takes on Paul McHugh (Newcastle), while Hetton's Paul Stoves meet Michael Rhodes on Thursday.
Spectators are welcome, with all matches starting at 7.30pm.
Second round draw – July 14: M Windsor (21) v D Craggs (Scr), July 16: A Parsons (7) v G Wilson (Scr), July 21: T Gwyn (28) v R Beckham or R Wilson, July 23: J Evans (28) v S Wylie (21), July 28: E Slessor (21) v J Stiff or P McHugh, July 30: D Lilley (Scr) v M Bell (21), Aug 4: M Ball (14) v G Bowman or P McMasters, Aug 6: J Bourne (21) v M Rhodes or P Stoves
