Chinese players Chen Feilong and Wu Yize won their first-round matches at the Snooker World Championship qualifiers in Sheffield, on Tuesday. 

The qualifying event will continue behind closed doors until July 28, with 128 players competing for 16 available spots in the tournament. 

Chen, 37, beat Aaron Hill 6-2 before wildcard holder Wu Yize edged Ashley Hugill 6-4. However, another Chinese player Si Jiahui lost to Ross Muir 6-2. 

Chen now faces Switzerland's Alexander Ursenbacher in the second round, while 16-year-old Wu will play Robbie Williams.

From Lanzhou in northwest China, snooker prodigy Wu Yize has already claimed China's youth championship at the age of 14 and won titles at World Under-21 Snooker Championship in 2018.

Meanwhile, Andy Hicks progresses to the second qualifying round after beating reigning world women's snooker champion Reanne Evans 6-3 in Sheffield.

Six-time world finalist Jimmy White completed a 6-3 win over Russian amateur Ivan Kakovskii.

The 58-year-old White last played at the Crucible Theatre in 2006 but has not given up hope of returning to the sport's biggest stage by coming through four qualifying rounds. 

With a limited number of fans set to be given access to Sheffield's Crucible arena, the World Snooker Championship, to be staged from July 31 to August 16, is one of the pilot events ahead of the full, socially-distanced return of sporting events in England from October 1. 

China's Ding Junhui and Yan Bingtao have already earned their places in the final thanks to their top 16 rankings, along with defending champion Judd Trump, veteran John Higgins, and five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.  

O'Sullivan said allowing fans at the Championship is an "unnecessary risk," and he left open the possibility of withdrawing despite saying he was prepared to take the risk of playing.   

(With input from agencies)