Wu Yize could become only the second Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship after establishing a 10-7 lead over Shaun Murphy on Sunday.
A fiercely contested opening session at the Crucible Theatre saw both players end all square at 4-4. Wu, ranked 10th in the world, hit the ground running in the second session with breaks of 82 and 103 to move two frames ahead.
Murphy, the world No 8, registered his first frame of the evening session with a break of 72, but his opponent duly responded with another two frames of his own, including a break of 89 right after the break to go 8-5 up.
The final four frames of the evening session in Sheffield were split again, meaning Wu needs only eight more to be the fourth consecutive first-time champion after Luca Brecel, Kyren Wilson and Zhao Xintong.
In the unlikely scenario that Wu reels off eight straight frames when play resumes on Monday, the 22-year-old from Gansu would become the second youngest ever winner, after Stephen Hendry in 1990, with a full session of 10 frames still to play.
Victory, and the lucrative £500,000 (US$679,025) winner’s cheque, would also propel Wu up the rankings to fourth.