World Champion Kyren Wilson is just two frames away from his first ever BetVictor Northern Ireland Open title, leading world number one Judd Trump 7-1 after the first session of the final at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
Wilson has enjoyed a tremendous start to his reign as Crucible king, which began in May when he defeated Jak Jones 18-14 to become World Champion for the first time.
The Warrior defeated Trump 10-8 in the final of the inaugural Xi’an Grand Prix earlier this term to win his seventh ranking title. A dominant opening session display leaves him just two wins away from another huge win over Trump.
It will take an epic fightback if defending champion Trump is to capture the Alex Higgins Trophy for a record extending fifth time. He needs to win at least eight of the possible nine frames tonight to claim the £100,000 top prize.
Breaks of 58, 81, 77, 77 and 88 helped Wilson into a dream 6-0 lead in a match many would have been predicted to be tightly contested from the off. The seventh frame came down to a safety battle on the brown, which was won by Wilson, who cleared to the black to establish a 7-0 advantage.
Trump summoned a defiant run of 83 to give himself a glimmer of hope in the last of the session, ending 7-1 behind.
They return to play this best of 17 encounter to a conclusion from 7pm.