Mark Allen's return to action ended in defeat as he became the latest big name to exit the Northern Ireland Open, losing 4-2 to Jordan Brown at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Allen had not played since his agonising World Championship semi-final loss to Wu Yize in early May.
The all-Northern Ireland first-round contest saw Allen, 40, take the opening frame on Tuesday afternoon. However, 39-year-old Brown hit back by taking the next two. Allen levelled the match at 2-2, but Brown built breaks of 53 and 80 in the final two frames to progress.
Allen, a former world number one, becomes the 10th top-16 player to fall at the first hurdle this year. Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Mark Selby are also among the early casualties.
In Tuesday's other early games, three-time world champion Mark Williams progressed with a 4-2 win over Robbie Williams, while Michael Holt knocked out Yuelong Zhou with a 4-1 victory. Brown will now aim to advance further than last year, when he reached the quarter-finals and lost 5-2 to Allen in the last eight. Defending champion Jack Lisowski is in action against Anthony Mc Gill during Tuesday's evening session at 21:00 BST.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing