Robertson also victorious on second week of Premier League
Peter Ebdon marked his long-awaited return to the PartyPoker.com Premier League with a 5-1 thrashing of Stephen Lee at Biddulph Valley Leisure Centre.
The 41-year-old former world champion, competing at the event for the first time since 2003, showed no signs of rustiness as he sped to a comprehensive opening triumph at the Stoke venue.
Ebdon recorded breaks of 80 and 83 before finishing the match with a stylish century.
Reigning world champion Nathan Robertson also kicked off his campaign with a win, routing Mark Selby 5-1 in his Group A opener.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Robertson said: "I played pretty solid stuff. I made three frame-winning breaks from not a lot on really. Overall, a 5-1 win in my first match, it doesn't get much better than that.
"My safety was really good in a lot of the frames. Mark is a great safety player and I've worked really hard on that recently as well. It was a real clash of styles tonight."