Comeback king Shaun Murphy led from the front to grab the early initiative in the 888.com World Championship semi-final clash with Mark Selby in Sheffield.
Murphy, the 2005 champion, had salvaged victory from the jaws of defeat when recovering from 12-7 down to overcome Matthew Stevens in the quarter-finals.
The 24-year-old seemed determine to avoid having to perform similar heroics against qualifier Selby by racing into a 5-1 lead in the best-of-33 frame showdown at the Crucible Theatre.
But Selby served notice that he can still pose a threat in a match which will span three days by taking the final two frames of the session.
Rotherham-based Murphy was 8-13-on favourite to reach the final with qualifier Selby rated at 13-8 to go through.
In the other semi-final, John Higgins and Stephen Maguire tied their opening session 4-4.
