Wu Yize moved within five frames of becoming the second youngest world snooker champion in history after withstanding a strong Shaun Murphy fightback in the third session of an absorbing Crucible final.
The 22-year-old from Lanzhou looked down and out after losing the first five frames of the day as the experienced Murphy roared back from a 10-7 overnight deficit to surge into a 12-10 lead.
But Wu, who had looked a pale imitation of the ferocious potting machine who had blazed into his first world final with scintillating wins over Mark Selby and Mark Allen, hit back to win the final three frames of the session and regain a slender 13-12 advantage.
The magnitude of the occasion had appeared to weigh heavy on Wu, who missed far too many easy balls in the opening stages. Murphy, looking to win his second world title 21 years after his first, was only too happy to capitalise.
A missed blue in the opening frame set the tone for a testing first four frames as Murphy pulled one back after a tactical battle, then hauled level with breaks of 76 and 52 in frames in which the Chinese player had been first at the table.
Murphy wrapped up the first mini-session by winning his fourth in a row, after which a stunned-looking Wu headed straight for the stage door for a restorative cigarette in a desperate bid to prevent his world title dreams going up in smoke.
Wu’s unorthodox intervention initially appeared to have paid off when he got in first with a break of 37 in the next, but a missed black off its spot was once again ruthlessly punished by Murphy, whose break of 60 sent him two frames clear at 12-10.
But faced with the real possibility of becoming only the fifth player to suffer a full session whitewash in Crucible history, the 22-year-old dug deep and came back firing.
Murphy missed a mid-range red early in the 23rd frame and for the first time the 43-year-old was punished.
A nervous break of 64 got Wu off the mark, but his next – a superbly-taken 61 – suggested Wu was back in full contention for an historic first world crown.
