Mark Williams leads Shaun Murphy 7-1 in the Xi’an Grand Prix final and is three frames away from becoming the oldest winner of a ranking event.
Aged 50 years and 206 days, Williams could eclipse the record held by fellow Welshman Ray Reardon, who was 50 years and 14 days old when he won the Professional Players Tournament in 1982.
Williams is appearing in his 44th ranking final and a 27th ranking title would put him one behind fifth-placed Steve Davis (28) in the all-time list.
Ronnie O’Sullivan holds the record with 41 ranking event wins.
Should Williams complete victory, he would become the first player to win a tour event in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
Reigning Masters champion Murphy, 43, is aiming for back-to-back tournament victories after winning last month’s British Open in Cheltenham.
The Englishman has continued his excellent form to reach another final in China, but was punished for any errors he made in the first eight frames by a ruthlessly efficient Williams.
