Si Jiahui edged into a two frame lead after a fascinating first session of the youngster’s World Snooker Championship semi-final against Luca Brecel.
The 20-year-old survived a final frame decider against Anthony McGill to reach the last four on debut at the Crucible, and showed few signs of nerves early in his encounter with Brecel.
The Chinese player sparkled to take four frames on the bounce after losing the opening frame of the match, and but for a missed black off the spot would have further extended his lead.
But a simple miss afforded Brecel an opportunity to get back in the match, with the two players splitting the final two frames of the session to leave Si 5-3 in front before the two players resume their best-of-33 encounter on Friday morning.
The winner of the semi-final will face either Mark Allen or Mark Selby in the World Championship final, with the two British players beginning their last-four match later on Thursday.
Follow all the live scores and results from the Crucible Theatre with our live blog, below:
