Shaun Murphy fired two centuries and five more breaks over 50 in a superb session as he built a 7-2 lead over Daniel Wells in the opening round of the Halo World Championship.
Wells himself made two centuries on his Crucible debut but could do little to contain his opponent as 2005 champion Murphy raced ahead. He will need just three more frames when they return on Wednesday at 10am to set up a last 16 tie with Judd Trump or Zhou Yuelong.
A run of 64 gave Johnstone's Paint Masters champion Murphy the first frame before Wells levelled with an excellent 131. World number 15 Murphy then took four in a row with 63, 100, 57 and 138. Wells pulled one back with a 109 only for Murphy to win the last two of the session with 76 and 89.
On the other table, Zhang Anda built a 5-3 lead over Pang Junxu in an all-Chinese battle. They also return at 10am on Wednesday and both players are aiming to reach the second round in Sheffield for the first time.
Pang took the opening frame before world number 12 Zhang won three in a row with a top break of 68. Frames five and six went to Pang, but Zhang finished the session strongly with a brace of 84s to secure an overnight advantage.