Ronnie O'Sullivan put himself on the brink of a third UK Championship title with an exhilarating display in the first session of the final against a shell-shocked Ken Doherty.
The world champion, who claimed he had played the best snooker of his life to beat Mark Williams yesterday, maintained his spectacular form to open up an 8-1 lead over the Irishman in York.
It left O'Sullivan needing only two of tonight's concluding 10 frames to clinch his first title of the season.
But even though Doherty was completely outplayed, he could have given O'Sullivan more to do but for a series of elementary mistakes.
A cagey opening frame went to O'Sullivan after his opponent missed a straightforward green, but Doherty hit straight back with a superb break of 95 before the 'Essex Exocet' edged ahead again by knocking in a 72.
The chance to make that contribution was presented to O'Sullivan when Doherty failed to pot a red along the cushion, but the world number two carved out his own opportunity in the next and compiled a magical 106.
In the first frame after the interval, the Dubliner again let in O'Sullivan to make a decisive 41, and soon it was 5-1 as the 25-year-old from Chigwell sunk a devastating long red and rattled in a run of 72.
The fourth seed's misery continued when O'Sullivan went further ahead thanks to a dashing 62, kicked off by another amazing pot, and then pounced on another loose shot by Doherty to go up 7-1 up with a 49.
Doherty had an opportunity to pull one back in the final frame of the afternoon but was so demoralised he could not take it, and O'Sullivan hit a 59 with typical aplomb to put himself within touching distance of the crown.