Ding Junhui fired four centuries to take a strong 6-2 lead over Alan McManus in the first session of their World Championship semi-final.

The Chinese had to qualify for the Crucible this year after slipping out of the world’s top 16 but has been unstoppable up to this point.

He dropped just seven frames in three best-of-19 qualifying matches and disposed of Martin Gould and Judd Trump in the first two rounds before winning his quarter-final against Mark Williams 13-3 with a session to spare.

He began the match in the same blistering form, with breaks of 100, 84 and 131 handing him a 3-0 lead.

He added the fourth and made another 100 break to go 5-0 up before McManus, in the last four for the first time since 1993, finally got on the board in frame six.

A precise long red helped the veteran Scot take the next as well but Ding rattled in a 128 in the last frame for a 6-2 advantage.

Meanwhile, World Snooker has signed a new 10-year deal with Eurosport which will see the broadcaster present live coverage of all major tournaments until 2026.

The deal is an extension of the European rights to 16 World Snooker Tour tournaments that Eurosport already holds, although rights to the biggest tournaments remain non-exclusive in the UK, meaning the current BBC deal is unaffected.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said: “This long-term deal with Eurosport is a very significant moment for our sport. Eurosport has played a crucial role in the rapid growth of snooker across the continent over the past 13 years.

“We’re excited about continuing this growth over the coming decade, staging new events in the UK and around Europe, and working alongside the Eurosport team.”

Other semi-final: Selby leads Fu 4-2.