Image source, BBC Sport

Barry Hawkins reponds to going behind by knocking in a long red and goind on to craft a break of 73.

Mark Williams needs a couple of snookers and decides it's not worth continuing. This match is locked at 4-4 heading into this evening when they resume.

Mark Williams gets his nose in front by taking the seventh frame after Barry Hawkins failed to make the most of an attempted counter clearance.

Ken Doherty
1997 world champion on BBC Two

Shaun, Judd Trump and Neil Robertson have all won it once and these are among the best players that have ever played this game. It shows you how difficult it is out there in the heat of battle.

Ife he keeps playing like that he will be hard to stop.

Shaun Murphy speaking to BBC Sport, after reaching the last eight of the World Snooker Championship: "Delighted. Great lead at 6-2 and that last frame of the first session was massive yesterday. Mathematically it is possible to win with a session to spare but you don't think it'll happen. I kept getting those little chances and am delighted with how I played.

"It doesn't happen often because everyone is so good. I am thrilled with it. We are going to ship out of Sheffield for a few days and go home and get on my practice table at home. I can do as much as I want instead of trying to dodge in for a half hour at the Crucible. I can spend the next few days getting ready for what is going to be a big game.

"I don't know if I would use the word desperate but it's very close [on wanting to win a second world title]. It's been 21 years since that totally clueless 22-year-old kid walked in and nicked the trophy from everybody and I have come back every year trying my hardest to repeat that magic and not been able to.

"I got out of jail in the first round and you could make an argument that I should not even be sat here. I was on it from the first ball."

Ken Doherty
1997 world champion on BBC Two

The scoring, with four centuries in all and a litany of other breaks through the match - Shaun looks really good.

That should really put him in good shape for his next match against either the reigning champion or Ding Junhui.

He is very initimidating. He stomps around the table and looks like he owns the arena and that can upset your opponent. When he is knocking those balls in and stomping around the table it has an affect. He is showman.

Shaun Murphy is picking off ball after ball. He's got this match won here and pings a long blue into the bottom right corner.

The 2005 world champion is eyeing another century break and is very much looking the part.

He has just been too good for Xiao Gudong and seals his win with a run of 103.

Mark Williams restores parity with another useful contribution of 74.

These two players simply cannot be separated at present.

Shaun Murphy thinks he has got a kick as he rattles the jaws of the corner pocket. That was a black off its spot.

Can Xiao Guodong take this match to this evening? It looks unlikely as he prods a red towards the same pocket and leaves it hanging.

John Parrott
1991 world champion on BBC Two

The main priority here is to get the frame won but Shaun does like a maximum that's for sure.

Is a maximum 147 break on here for Shaun Murphy? He is on the balls and looking good.

Ken Doherty
1997 world champion on BBC Two

It's been a barrage of breaks. Murphy has had a bit of help from Xiao who has not been that sharp.

It's got worse and worse for Xiao Guodong. Shaun looks immaculate and could be a danger for anyone in this tournament.

Shaun Murphy misses a long red to the right corner but is completely let off the hook as his opponent fails to convert a chance to the same pocket.

It allows the Englishman the chance to take on another long red which he dispatches.

Murphy has played very well in and amongst the balls but some of these frames have felt like a practice sessions.

A third century of the match looks on the cards here and he gets it with a delightful shot that releases the final tied up red.

An evening off looks well and truly on the cards now for Murphy.

Superb stuff from Barry Hawkins. Mark Williams looked odds on to lead the match for the first time when he took control of the frame and opened up a 49-point lead.

The Englishman, forces a mistake in a safety exchange and then puts together a run of 58 to go back in front.

Xiao Guodong is on a run of 55 when he misses a red to the right middle.

Will Shaun Murphy be able to steal the frame from here? Course he will. The Magician conjures up a break of 69 with an excellent counter clearance to move 11-3 ahead.

Ken Doherty
1997 world champion on BBC Two

Shaun Murphy will be so determined to win the match in this session because it is nice to have a night off and it could benefit you down the road.

The Crucible is such a wonderful place when you are playing well but when you are getting hammered it is the most difficult place to play as a snooker player. It can be so lonely in that seat.

There have been 35 century breaks at the World Championship so far but we are yet to have a 147.

The top break at this year's tournament is currently at 140 (Shaun Murphy & Mark Allen).

But will we see a maximum? Hit the thumbs if you think one is on the cards.

Shaun Murphy resumes by sticking another frame on the board after the players come back from their mid-session interval.

The Englishman is piling on the points (and misery for his opponent) at the moment and constructs his second break of 103 in this match.

He's also knocked in six other breaks of 60 of more and is just three frames away from a place in the enxy round. It is a long way back for Xiao Guodong now.

Image source, Getty Images

The first round of the 2026 World Snooker Championship finished on Thursday - but how much do you remember about the first six days of the tournament?

There are six questions to answer, with the first representing the yellow and worth two points, the second (green) question worth three points and so on...

Can you clear all of the colours for a maximum score of 27?

Mark Williams hits back with a break of 124. This is brilliant.