Reigning Masters champion Shaun Murphy moved into the last 16 of the World Snooker Championship with a 10-4 victory in a high-quality match with Crucible debutant Daniel Wells.
Murphy, 42, is aiming to win a second world title 20 years after his first success but could face world number one Judd Trump in the next round.
Against Welsh qualifier Wells, the Sheffield crowd were treated to a fine display of snooker with every frame seeing a break of at least 50, including six centuries – three from each player.
Murphy won the Masters in January and is looking to become the first player since Trump in 2018-19 to win that tournament and the World Championship in the same season.
After Tuesday’s first session, Murphy held a 7-2 lead and extended that with a break of 53, to move two frames from victory.
But Wells, 49th in the world, made excellent breaks of 115 and 68 to pull two frames back, before Murphy moved one frame away with a superb run of 133.
He then clinched the victory with a break of 71 in the final frame.
Trump leads China’s Zhou Yuelong 6-3 in their first-round tie, which will be completed on Wednesday evening (19:30 BST).
