Shaun Murphy won three of the final four frames of the first session of the International Championship final to keep himself in the contest at 6-3 against Judd Trump.

Second seed Trump was out of the blocks quickly in Daqing on Sunday as he took the first five frames.

The Bristolian’s lightening start included a century break in the third frame, while he made scores of 85 and 83 in the opening two frames as Murphy was forced to take a watching brief.

Breaks of 77 and 69 moved Trump into a commanding 5-0 lead as the reigning world champion threatened to run away with the final.

However, Murphy was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the sixth frame with a break of 87 and then won a scrappy seventh 68-37.

Trump fired back to take the next frame via a break of 74 but 13th seed Murphy had the final word of the first session as he kept himself on the 29-year-old’s coattails.

Murphy, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Saturday by defeating Mark Allen to reach the final, is a 7.00 chance to claim the £175,000 winners’ cheque, while Trump is 1.08 to clinch back-to-back rankings tournaments following his success at the Crucible last season.

The Juddernaut has won three of the last four meetings with Murphy, while he also triumphed the last time they faced off at the International Championship back in 2016.

However, Murphy was the victor the last time the pair were at the table together, claiming a 6-3 victory at the Scottish Open last December.