It was an entertaining morning session, with Wilson nearly making a maximum in only the second frame of the day.

If he had done so, it would have been his second 147 in successive years at the Crucible after he made one in a 10-5 first-round win over Ryan Day in 2023.

There is a prize pot of £40,000 for a 147 at this year’s main draw event, with the money to be shared if more than one player makes a maximum.

That is on top of a share of £15,000 for the highest break in the whole tournament, with that money currently destined for Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham, who made a 147 in his third qualifying round win over Andy Hicks.

Speaking about the maximum chance on BBC Two, Wilson, the 12th seed, said: “It’s no disrespect to Dom, but it’s not often you find yourself in that position where you can just have a free shot at it.

“My family – my wife and my kids – came up for this session so I thought it might be nice. They watched my last 147 at school in this tournament last year so I thought it might be nice to try to do one for them live.

“Last year I was in position until the very end with the last two reds – but this one, I was constantly fighting, and every time a ball went in the crowd got more and more excited which then got the adrenaline going, and I felt more under pressure to try to do it for the kids live. It’s always special here but it’s nice to play with freedom.”

Wilson felt he had a good chance of becoming world champion if he could maintain this form.

He said: “A big part of my game is heavy scoring and there are definitely players that are suited to this event and I would like to believe I’m one of those. If I play like that it will take some performance in any round for any player to stop me.”