Qualifying over, 32 players set out on the quest for their share of the $200,000 prize fund.
The first two matches were both tough affairs with Adrian Grant and Azlan Iskandar going through in hour-plus matches. Thierry Lincou and Peter Barker helped the court 5 schedule with 3/0 wins, while court 5 fell further behind as Cameron Pilley beat eighth seed Wael El Hindi in five.
As the third court came into play Tarek Momen added another upset as he beat compatriot Mohammed Abbas, but no such trouble for defending champion Ramy Ashour.
Top seed Amr Shabana dropped a game to Aamir Atlas Khan, but looked comfortable enough, while Ong Beng Hee came from 2/1 down to beat Jonathan Kemp.
The Pontefract pair of Lee Beachill and James Willstrop enjoyed contrasting straight-game wins, Beachill pushed in every game by Borja Golan, Willstrop accelerating past qualifier Kashif Shuja.
Gregory Gaultier beat veteran PSA President Alex Gough in three, accelerating away after a tough first game, but Karim Darwish denied a French hat-trick as he saw off a spirited effort by Renan Lavigne.
The last matches to finish saw LJ Anjema win an ugly affair over Omar Abdel Aziz.
The final match follows tonight's opening ceremony, local wildcard Abdullah Al Mezayen facing Olli Tuominen on the glass court.
Round One:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11/3, 11/9, 9/11 11/6 (49m)
[12] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Hisham Ashour (EGY) 11/7, 12/10, 12/14, 11/4 (63m)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [8] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11/6, 8/11, 3/11, 11/4, 11/6 (76m)
[14] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11/7, 4/11, 7/11, 11/8, 11/8 (63m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Alex Gough (WAL) 12/10, 11/8, 11/1 (40m)
20.30GC [13] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt Abdullah Almezayen (KUW)11/9-11/2-9/11-11/7 3-1 (50m)
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11/5, 11/6, 9/11, 11/7 (53m)
[16] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11/7, 11/2, 11/7 (45m)
[15] Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [Q] Alister Walker (ENG) 6/11, 14/12, 6/11, 11/7, 11/6 (73m)
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [Q] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11/9, 11/9, 11/2 (45m)
[9] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [Q] Julian Illingworth (USA) 11/7, 11/8, 11/3 (50m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Kashif Shuja (NZL) 11/9, 11/4, 11/1 (35m)
[10] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 12/10, 11/9, 11/8 (56m)
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 11/5, 10/12, 11/1, 11/5 (59m)
[Q] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [11] Mohamed Abbas (EGY) 5/11, 14/16, 11/2, 11/5 (47m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11/7, 14/12, 11/6 (36m)
Main Round One