Wales’ Jak Jones, the lowest-ranked participant left within the event at forty fourth on the planet, loved a high quality opening session to steer 6-2 towards 2023 semi-finalist Si Jiahui of China.
Si made breaks of fifty and 64 within the opening two frames, solely to lose each frames on the black, though Si made it 2-2 following breaks of 62 and 84.
Nonetheless, Jones, himself a quarter-finalist final yr, received the final 4 frames of the session, aided by breaks of 66 and 71 to achieve a four-frame benefit, earlier than that match resumes at 19:00.
Elsewhere on Friday, world quantity three Judd Trump leads 6-2 towards Tom Ford and will win his match with a session to spare – if he takes seven of the eight frames within the afternoon session.
In the meantime England’s Shaun Murphy, the 2005 champion, begins his match with Scotland’s Stephen Maguire, a two-time Crucible semi-finalist.