Dubliner Ken Doherty has a mountain to climb in the morning if he is to qualify for the World Snooker Championship this year.
The 1997 world champion was handed a difficult final qualifying round draw in Welsh potter Matthew Stevens who finished runner-up on the world stage twice and has played in five semi-finals.
Doherty was being beaten out the gate coming to the end of today's session as he trailed Stevens by 7 frames to 1 but he crucially managed to pull one back in the last frame of the session to trail 7-2.
They resume play in the morning at the English Institute of Sport from 11am with the first man to 10 frames progressing.
The 48-year-old Ranelagh man is looking to qualify for the big one at the Crucible for the first time in four years.
The tournament at the famous Sheffield venue gets underway this Saturday.
