Welshman Mark Williams took a 5-3 lead over Northern Ireland's Mark Allen after a high-quality first session of their World Championship quarter-final.
The two-time champion stole the opening two frames and after an Allen break of 78 made it 2-1, Williams racked up 125.Runs of 78 and 66 extended his lead to 5-1 but Allen responded with back-to-back centuries to cut the gap to two.
Judd Trump produced some stunning pots to open up a commanding 7-1 lead over Scotland's 2006 champion Graeme Dott.
The 21-year-old, who won his maiden ranking event at the China Open earlier this month, continued his superb form to move within six frames of the semi-finals.
He comfortably won the first two frames and after Dott - who has won all his previous Crucible quarter-finals - had opened with 52 in the third, Trump cleared to the black to pinch it.
He looked to be heading for a 4-0 mid-session lead after a break of 68 in the fourth, but Dott fought back to win it on the black.
But the youngster dominated on the resumption, further breaks of 86, 64, 58 and 55 leaving the gritty Scot with an uphill battle to salvage the match.
Meanwhile, Williams, the champion in 2000 and 2003, also looked to be heading for a big lead when he went 5-1 ahead against Allen, a semi-finalist in 2009 and quarter-finalist last year.
The Northern Irishman made a 66 break in the opener but lost it on a re-spotted black after Williams had tied the scores.
The Welshman, back to provisional world number one, also pinched the second frame after a run of 59 from Allen, who got on the board after a break of 78 in the third.
But Williams, who maintained a 95% potting success rate throughout the session, rattled in 125 to move three frames clear at the interval.
That swiftly became 5-1 but Allen showed tremendous character with breaks of of 100 and 102 to finish in style and stay in touch.
Both quarter-finals resume at 1900 BST on Tuesday. BBC Sports Updates
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