Mark King's hopes of celebrating his 30th birthday with the first major title of his career remain on track despite trailing after the opening session of his Citywest Irish Masters final against Peter Ebdon.
The players have just over an hour to digest the opening exchanges to their best-of-19 frames showdown before resuming their head to head.
Ebdon restarts with a slender 5-4 advantage but underdog King still believes he can take the trophy and winner's cheque.
Ebdon was behind just once in a three hour opening session. That was when King clinched the first frame of the session.
It was an early warning shot to Ebdon and he heeded the wake-up call, taking four of the next five frames, including a 131 break in the fifth.
He required the black to claims the highest break of the tournament, which remains King's 137. But he missed and King remains favourite to clinch the bonus.
Ebdon made 57 in the sixth and 46 at the start of the seventh to threaten to wreck King's party.
But the 1997 Welsh Open runner-up - his only previous ranking final - struck back with a superb 79 clearance to reduce the arrears.
A scrappy eighth frame went King's way as well and it was his turn to look in control.
Referee Eirian Williams had to remove a wasp from the table at the start of the last frame of the afternoon and there was a sting in the table for the Essex player.
He led 36-24 but missed the brown on 36 and Ebdon's 49 was decisive.