Ronnie O'Sullivan and Luca Brecel each moved within a frame of the Halo Championship quarter-finals, after securing commanding leads on Sunday afternoon at the Crucible.
O'Sullivan surged 12-4 ahead against China's Pang Junxu in their second-round encounter. The Rocket is appearing in a ranking event for the first time since the UK Championship last November, having withdrawn from several tournaments due to health reasons. He previously revealed he had to overcome stage fright to compete here in Sheffield.
The Englishman is chasing a record-breaking eighth Crucible crown, in what is his 33rd consecutive appearance at the Theatre of Dreams. He opened his campaign this year with a 10-4 victory over fierce rival Ali Carter.
Pang secured his first-ever Crucible match win in the opening round, beating Zhang Anda 10-7. His debut in the final stages last year ended in a 10-7 loss to O'Sullivan.
Heading into today's session, 49-year-old O'Sullivan led 6-2. Pang showed early promise, crafting breaks of 87 and 62 to win the first two frames and close the gap to 6-4.
However, those would be the last frames Pang claimed in the afternoon. O'Sullivan responded emphatically with contributions of 79, 80, 105, 135, and 62 to reel off six frames in a row and build a commanding 12-4 cushion ahead of tomorrow evening's concluding session at 7pm.
Meanwhile, Brecel also moved into a 12-4 lead in his second-round clash with China's number one, Ding Junhui.
The Belgian produced a sensational display in the opening session yesterday evening, storming into a 7-1 lead. Steve Davis described it as the best exhibition of snooker he has ever witnessed at the Crucible.
Brecel kept the pressure on this afternoon, firing in runs of 53, 75, and 56 to extend his lead to 11-1. The next two frames were shared, leaving Brecel on the brink of victory, but Ding battled back with superb breaks of 107 and 110 to close the session trailing 12-4 and force a third session. They resume tomorrow evening at 7pm.