Jimmy White is two victories away from a return to the Crucible Theatre after a 10-5 victory over Ross Bulman on Saturday.
In the World Championship first qualifying round encounter, White overcame the young Irishman in a hard-fought battle.
Bulman took the opening couple of frames and generally tested the resilience of the six-time runner-up in Sheffield.
The teenager, who reached the final of the European Under-21 Championship in February in Israel, won a number of tight frames and at times threatened to run the contest close.
But the “Whirlwind” held his nerve to pull clear at important times, winning a particularly important 13th frame before the final mid-session interval when his opponent looked set to reduce his arrears to just one.
White, now 56 years-old and in danger of dropping off the tour with a fresh invitational tour card not yet guaranteed, won the crucial frame to move 8-5 in front and also took the last two to complete a somewhat flattering scoreline.
The Londoner will next face Ali Carter in the penultimate round after the latter, himself a former World Championship finalist, hammered Paul Davison 10-1.
Carter is attempting to maintain a qualifying streak for the Crucible that has lasted since his debut in 2003.
White, meanwhile, hasn’t featured in the last 32 at the venue stages of the blue riband championship since his last appearance in 2006.
Earlier on the fourth day of action, former world champions Ken Doherty and Graeme Dott were in action at the English Institute of Sport.
Dott looks in good shape to advance after establishing a 7-2 advantage over Hamza Akbar but 1997 winner Doherty is in greater peril.
The Dubliner boasts only a narrow 5-4 lead over Hong Kong’s Andy Lee, with the second session to come later today.
Ryan Day, ranked number 17 after just missing out on an automatic place at the Crucible, and fellow Welshman Matthew Stevens enjoy 6-3 cushions over Oliver Lines and Thor Chuan Leong respectively.
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Why the first round allways first to 10 frames of cut frames from 10 to 6 frames in first round do you think you get more frames in.