Crucible qualifier Zhao Xintong took a commanding 11-6 lead over Mark Williams on day one of theWorld Snooker Championshipfinal, getting the best of the three-time champion on the biggest stage of his career.
Aiming to become the first Chinese player to be crowned world champion, the 28-year-old followed up his semi-final thrashing of Ronnie O’Sullivan with a rampant opening session that left him 7-1 ahead.
The Welshman, aiming to become the oldest man to win the title at 50, showed admirable steel to take the evening session 5-4, winning a nervy battle for the final red to end a taxing day on a positive note.
Even so, the odds remain stacked against him. Nobody has ever overcome a five-frame deficit overnight to win this trophy.
For Zhao, whose ongoing amateur status is largely due to a 20-month ban for his role in a betting scandal, there is a chance to follow Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy as just the third player to lift the trophy having come through qualification.
He needs seven more frames to seal this best-of-35 clash, with Williams needing a major turnaround to claim another 12.
Zhao came out hot, controlling the opening frame after an initial 51-point flurry and sealing it after navigating a safety exchange. He ran up an even 100 in the second and was soon 3-0 to the good, showing his quality and range with three outstanding shots to sink brown, blue and pink.
Williams stopped the rot just before the mid-session interval, ending a sloppy frame with his nose in front, but Zhao ensured he kept the momentum with a decisive break of 57.
The older man looked to have found his mojo when he notched up 61 – more than double his previous best – but misjudged a cannon off the black with frame for the taking. He was unable to make a fine cut on the red and Zhao did the rest.
Emboldened by his lead, Zhao got even better as the session came to an end, piecing together a fluid 104 and producing a remarkable plant on a long red to finish with an 83.
The break appeared to spark Williams into life as he took the first two frames of the evening’s play. A break of 86 bettered anything he had managed in the previous session and he never looked better than when escaping a snooker with a precision shot off four cushions.
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Having seen his lead trimmed back to four, Zhao halted the comeback in its tracks with a break of 71 and then made it two in a row as he moved halfway to the 18 frames required for victory.
Williams was more resilient than he had been earlier in the day, taking the 13th after a long grapple for control and nailing a long red to take his fifth frame. He might have had the next too, but one slight misjudgement stopped him short on 23 and brought Zhao to the table.
His clinical response deserved another century but he had to make do with 96 and one step closer to glory.
Williams came within a whisker of hitting back, going 63 ahead with 75 left, only to miss the clincher. Zhao rose from his chair and cleared the table for 71.
Down but not yet out, Williams took the final frame deep, eventually winning the race to land the last red and banking an important boost before the last day in Sheffield.