After two exceptional sessions of snooker against Neil Robertson, Martin Gould now finds himself as low as 16-1 to land the World Championship crown after starting the day at 200-1 with some firms.
The 'Pinner Potter' stormed into an early 6-0 against the shell-shocked Aussie in the morning's play, eventually taking a 6-2 lead into the evening session, where he restored his six-frame lead to end the evening 11-5 up and virtually all but certain of a place in the quarter-final against either John Higgins or Steve Davis.
The former croupier produced some of the best snooker seen at these championships so far and Robertson just had no answer to the 28-year-old's prowess on the baize. "Is no ball on the table safe?" cried commentator John Virgo as Gould pulled off a stunning double in the 14th frame to emphasise just how well he was playing.
Robertson looked stunned throughout the session and it will take a miracle for him to wrest this match away from Gould. The 'Pinner Potter' is a best price of 25-1 with Paddy Power and a speculative punt is called for just in case...
Steve Davis was 500-1 for the title before the tournament started and is now just 33-1 in places after an amazing performance thus far against Higgins. The 52-year-old rolled back the years with some vintage stuff and holds a two-frame advantage at 9-7 going into Saturday morning's final session.
It could well now be a Davis v Gould quarter-final, rather than a Higgins v Robertson one, an outcome no-one could possibly have predicted. Higgins, meanwhile, remains a best price of 6-1 for Crucible glory although he is still as short as 9-2 in places.
Another player making waves is Graeme Dott following a blistering performance against world number two Stephen Maguire. The 2006 world champion is 7-1 ahead, helped by two breaks of 90 and a century in what must surely be one of his best displays in years.
The 'Pocket Dynamo' was 125-1 at the outset, but that has been reduced to 16s with bet365 and Skybet, and he looks well on course for a quarter-final clash with Mark Allen at least. Maguire, meanwhile, is on the drift big style and is now 80-1 with Ladbrokes.
