Luca Brecel showed the Crucible crowd just why he has so much potential in the game after dominating the opening session against one of the season’s most in form players.

The Belgian Bullet, as he is nicknamed, stands just three frames away from securing a place in the second round of the World Championship  for the first time after taking an overnight 7-2 lead against Marco Fu.

Luca Brecel. Picture: BBC Sport

Brecel, who reached the German Masters final last year, stormed into a 5-0 lead against the world number 8.

Fu, a semi-finalist at the World Championship last year, got a frame back before 22-year-old Brecel won the next two frames to go 7-1 ahead.

But Fu hit a century at the end of the session to reduce his arrears to 7-2. But the Hong Kong star has been left with it all to do to pull off an unlikely victory.

The pair resume at 7pm on Monday evening.

Brecel first and last played in the World Championship in 2012 when, at the age of 17, he became the youngest ever player to compete at the Crucible. He lost 10-5 to Stephen Maguire in the opening round.

WATCH: Luca Brecel makes Crucible Century at the age of 17 in 2012

Meanwhile Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen leads Jimmy Robertson 5-4 going into this evening’s session.

Allen, bidding to win his first World Championship title, came back from 4-3 down to take a slender overnight lead against the English qualifier.