Wu Yize has a 13-12 lead over Shaun Murphy after the first three sessions of an enthralling 2026 World Snooker Championship final.
The 22-year-old had never won a match on his two previous visits to Sheffield and is now just five frames away from becoming China's second world champion.
Wu won the first three frames of the final as Murphy started slowly, but the 2005 champion bounced back to ensure that the afternoon session ended all square at 4-4.
The Chinese superstar then won six of the nine frames in the evening session on Sunday to take a 10-7 lead heading into today, before the Magician conjured up some Murphy magic on Monday afternoon.
Breaks of 76, 52, 59 and 60 helped Murphy win five consecutive frames to go 12-10 up, but Yize bounced back impressively to win the final three frames of the session and take a narrow lead into what promises to be a thrilling end to this year's tournament.
Shaun Murphy v Wu Yize Latest Odds
It has been 21 years since Murphy followed in the footsteps of Alex Higgins and Terry Griffiths to become only the third qualifier to win the world title.
Since beating Matthew Stevens 18-16 to become world champion in 2005, Murphy has lost in the final on three separate occasions.
He was comfortably beaten by John Higgins in the 2009 final, before suffering agonising 18-15 defeats to Stuart Bingham in 2015 and Judd Trump in 2021.
After getting revenge for his 2009 final defeat by beating four-time champion Higgins in the semi-finals, Murphy will want to avoid a fourth final defeat.
China's Wu Yize has enjoyed a remarkable tournament, in particular when fighting back from 16-14 down to beat Mark Allen 17-16 in one of the most thrilling semi-finals ever seen at the Crucible.
After thrashing compatriot Lei Peifan 10-2 in the first round, Wu beat former champion Mark Selby with a 13-11 triumph in the Last 16.
He then overcame Judd Trump's conqueror Hossein Vafaei 13-8 in the quarter-finals prior to his semi-final win over Allen.
If Wu is able to finish the job, he will be become the second youngest world champion in the tournament's history.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
