Ronnie O'Sullivan hammers Michael Georgiou, John Higgins beats Cao Yupeng to reach last 32

The five-time champion raced into a 4-0 lead before Georgiou took his only frame with a break of 60.

O'Sullivan, who is hoping to equal Steve Davis' haul of six titles at the Barbican in York, was not at his free-flowing best and did not make any century breaks. However, his class told as he rounded off the match with breaks of 68 and 82.

"I just want to play for the enjoyment of it," O'Sullivan told the BBC. "I find it tough sometimes, I just have to manage it as well as I can.

He will now face wither Michael White of Matthew Selt on Tuesday.

Higgins made tougher work of Yupeng however, struggling to a 6-4 win, despite some excellent shots from his opponent.

The three-time champion struggled with his cue ball control but ended with a 66-1 win in the final frame.

In other matches, Shaun Murphy edged past Liam Highfield, taking the final-frame shootout 79-57, and Mark King missed out on his first ever 147 in competition, but had the consolation of beating Mike Dunn 6-4.

John Higgins 6 - 4 Cao Yupeng

Yan Bingtao 6-1 Ben Woollaston

Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-1 Michael Georgiou

Kyren Wilson 6 - 4 Yu Delu

Luca Brecel 6 - 3 Aditya Mehta

Mark King 6 - 4 Mike Dunn

Barry Hawkins 6 - 2 Hammad Miah

Martin Gould 6 - 2 Robbie Williams

Noppon Saengkham 6 - 0 Leo Fernandez

Xiao Guodong 6 - 1 Tom Ford

Michael White 6 - 1 Matthew Selt

Jimmy Robertson 6 - 5 Alan McManus

Shaun Murphy 6 - 5 Liam Highfield

Ricky Walden 6 - 5 Jamie Jones [44]