Hawkins leads China's Ding 11-5 at snooker worlds quarterfinals

LONDON -- Chinese snooker star Ding Junhui's dream of winning a world championship is almost over as Barry Hawkins enjoyed an 11-5 lead in the second session of their quarterfinal at Sheffield on Tuesday.

Hawkins, 39, won six of the eight frames and needs just two more when they resume at 10am on Wednesday to become the first man into the semifinals.

The 2013 finalist Hawkins, reaching three more semifinals in the past four years, would earn his 18th match victory in Sheffield in the past six years, more than any player including three-time champion Mark Selby.

Hawkins extended his lead to 8-3 with breaks of 60, 73 and 76. Ding, the 2016 finalist, closed the gap to 8-5 with runs of 102 and 52. Hawkins won three frames in a row to finish the session at 11-5.

On the other table, Kyren Wilson closed in on his first Crucible semi-final as he went 11-5 ahead of Mark Allen.

In the afternoon's competition, two-time winner Mark Williams drew with Ali Carter 4-4 and Judd Trump led four-time champion John Higgins 5-3.