Shaun Murphy held a slender 9-8 lead over Stuart Bingham at the end of Sunday’s play in the World Championship final at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
Murphy, world champion in 2005 and looking to emulate snooker great Alex Higgins by winning his second global title a decade after his first, was 3-0 and 8-4 up against first-time finalist Bingham.
But Bingham fought back in this all-English contest, his break of 123 leaving him just one frame behind in this best-of-35 contest, which will be played to a finish on Monday.
Earlier, Murphy compiled breaks of 121 and 106.
This was Murphy’s third appearance in the world final, having lost to Scotland’s John Higgins in 2009, and he was quickly into his stride as he took the first three frames.
But Bingham hit back to level a 4-4 only for Murphy to surge in front again by taking four frames in a row before his opponent again showed his fighting qualities.