SHAUN Murphy remains on course to achieve his dream of clinching a second World Snooker Championship title as he leads Stuart Bingham heading into day two of their final.
Murphy lifted the trophy for the first time in 2005 and a decade later he established a narrow 9-8 advantage over Bingham with the two playing to a finish on Monday.
Heavy scoring at the Crucible Theatre over the past fortnight has seen Murphy dominate opponents and he demonstrated that ability once again on Sunday - three half-century breaks helping him race into a 3-0 lead.
But Bingham, a 50-1 outsider for the title before the tournament began, has shown considerable heart to battle his way to this stage for the first time and a run of 105 was the highlight as he fought back to 4-4.
The Essex potter could only sit and watch at the start of the evening session however as Murphy's piston-like cue action was working to full effect, enabling him to open up an 8-4 lead including back-to-back centuries before being pegged back.
The 32-year-old was a qualifier when he shockingly won the World Championship in 2005 and he also reached the final in 2009, losing 18-9 to John Higgins.
But now firmly entrenched in the world's top eight, the Nottingham-based cueman insists a second world title would be his crowning glory.
"It will mean more than winning it the first time around if I were to win it again and I will be putting everything I've got into the match," said Murphy in the lead-up to the final.
"I didn't really take part in the 2009 final against John [Higgins], so to have another crack at it is what I have been dreaming of since then.
"Without question I'm playing the best snooker I've ever played and I've played some good stuff over the years."
Bingham is a man who has never shied away from hard work, although success at the Crucible Theatre has always eluded him - a quarter-final in 2013 his best previous display.
But victories over Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump to reach the 2015 final appear to have given the 38-year-old confidence and he demonstrated that at 8-4 down, reeling off three straight frames, including a 123 break, to narrow the deficit to one.
And the pair split the final two, setting up a compelling session of snooker when they resume at 2pm tomorrow, although Bingham will relish being a slight underdog.
"Obviously I want to go one step further but just to get into the world final is unbelievable," claimed Bingham after his semi-final win over Trump.
"I've got nothing to lose. I'll be the underdog again and I am just hopefully going to enjoy every second of it, win lose or draw."
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