Peter Ebdon produced the kind of stunning snooker which could carry him to a second 888.com World Championship title as he took command of his semi-final clash with Marco Fu at The Crucible Theatre.
Ebdon demonstrated the fluent side of his game lacking in a turgid and slow-moving opening session to move into a 9-7 lead in the best-of-33 showdown. The 2002 champion reeled off two centuries and five other 50-plus breaks but Fu, appearing in his first semi-final at Sheffield, is far from dead and buried.
He showed his mettle in the final frame of the session with a superb 70 clearance to prevent himself from falling four behind after Ebdon had led 67-0. The initial eight frames had been a grind, spanning nearly four hours and prompting one spectator to shout out "it's like watching paint dry" which earned him a reprimand from referee John Oomen.
But a new day seemed to bring a fresh approach with Ebdon and Fu both showing more positive intent. There were still bouts of safety exchanges but both players also took advantage when in among the balls.
Fu, bidding to become the first Asian to reach the world final, broke down on 17 in the opening frame and Ebdon took advantage with a composed 68. He went two frames clear in the match for the first time after taking advantage of a poor safety shot by 28-year-old Fu in the next.
Fu found himself in trouble after being snookered behind the brown and Ebdon made him pay with a superb 107 clearance - his first century of the match and the 40th in total at this year's championships.
The Hong Kong player needed to respond and he made his presence felt in frame 11 after a good opening pot and some good positional play helped him to compile a 60 break and leave Ebdon needing snookers. But Ebdon retaliated with a break of 94 in the final frame before the interval and the overall quality was infinitely higher than on Thursday.
The match continued in a similar vein after the break with Ebdon's 74 clearance putting him 8-5 ahead to leave Fu in danger of being cut adrift.
Ebdon was first among the balls in the next with another half century but Fu's run of 42 kept him in contention before he concluded a bout of safety play by potting the final black to halt Ebdon's charge.
Ebdon was soon back in his stride with a composed 101 and looked set to lead 10-6 going into the evening session before Fu's splendid rally.