Snooker veteran Pat Houlihan took a 7–1 lead against Tommy Murphy, but Murphy won seven of the next eight to bring the match to 8–8. Houlihan won the 17th frame, but with breaks of 52 and 71 Murphy took the next two frames to progress into the second round. Murphy then lost 8–10 to John Virgo after leading 8–7. Virgo made a break of 101 in the 13th frame. Tony Meo defeated Vic Harris 10–0, and then defeated Geoff Foulds 10–4 to qualify. The tournament's promoter, Mike Watterson lost 6–10 to John Campbell. Rex Williams lost just one frame in qualifying, securing a 10–0 whitewash over Mike Darrington and then defeated Fred Davis 10–1.