We're witnessing our first really lengthy safety exchange at the start of this sixth frame.

Cat-and mouse, as John Virgo says, adding: "But who's the cat?"

More from Shaun Murphy: "This is what we play for. These moments are to be enjoyed.

"When the pockets start looking like buckets and you play shots that come off as you imagined that doesn't happen all the time."

Wonder if he'll still be feeling like this later...

Shaun Murphy has looked in fine fettle during this tournament, hasn't he?

And after barely seeing a spectator on the World Snooker Tour in the last 12 months or so, he reckons that having fans at the event has contributed to his renaissance.

“I am one of those players that needs the crowd. I need that 12th man interaction and I am a much lesser player without it. That has been evident in my results all season," Murphy said.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to saying the crowd is the only reason I have played so well but they have played a part and I think we have to remember we are in the entertainment business. We are in a theatre and we are putting on a show.

“Everybody's been locked up and isolated for the past year and they want to see a show, and it's our job to put on a show and entertain them.

"There is more to winning major snooker events in front of live audiences than just hitting the cue ball in a straight line and putting balls in pockets.”

Image source, Getty Images

Frame 4: missed long red costs Shaun Murphy the frame.

Frame 5: potted long red wins Murphy the frame.

Well, of course there was plenty for both players to do after those respective shots but, at this level, that's what it comes down to.

Murphy misses a routine black on 75 but Mark Selby is well into the snookers required category and the Magician nudges ahead.

The interval appears to done Shaun Murphy some good after losing those two frames prior to the mid-session break.

He absolutely clatters in a long red - pretty much a replica of the one he missed in the last frame, which cost him dearly.

He had soon put that out of his mind, then.

Image source, Getty Images

The players are back in the auditorium - a lovely word you don't get to often use in sports reporting - and we are under way again.

Odds on this session finishing 4-4?

Mark Selby edges the head-to-head stats between the two players but it's very tight - just like this final has been.

He also has two more Crucible crowns than Murphy, a gap the Magician will be aiming close over the next 36 hours.

Image source, BBC Sport

Mark Selby reached this final with a rollercoaster victory over Stuart Bingham in the last four.

Check out highlights of that one below.

What a cracking first mini-session of the final that was - something for everyone.

Three tight frames featuring a series of jousts on the colours before Mark Selby knocks in a nice 89 to draw level at 2-2.

A lovely appetizer for the main course ahead of us this next day and a half...

We almost get a first century break of the final but Mark Selby goes in off the penultimate black when trying to free the last red from the cushion.

He won't care, though - job done for the Jester as he comes from 2-0 down to level at the interval.

The thing that always amazes me about Mark Selby - apart from his super stubble - is that he was an 8-ball pool world champion before switching to snooker.

If you don't play cue sports, you might not understand quite what a jump that is. Some of the same skills are required, yes, but it's a whole different game.

Anyway, he's flying here, already past a half-century for his break, and should be back on level terms pretty soon.

Losing that frame may well have rattled Shaun Murphy slightly.

He attempts a long high-risk but high-reward red - had he potted it, he was in.

But it missed fairly dramatically, bouncing around all over the shop and Mark Selby has a golden chance to draw level with the reds placed beautifully.

Speaking of the way Shaun Murphy played in his stunning semi-final win over Kyren Wilson, here's some of the highlights...

Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion on BBC Two

Shaun Murphy has not reached the heights he did last night yet and it's the same with Mark Selby.

He has played better snooker throughout this championship but is starting to get settled and this could turn into a classic.

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

Mark Selby is so tough to beat, he’s great at clawing back those frames.

His safety is telling as Shaun Murphy leaves a tempting brown. Selby knocks it in and completes the clearance.

Big frame to pinch, even so early.

Image source, Getty Images

This is a clinic in clearing-up from Selby. I need to get him sorting my kids' bedrooms.

He's manouevred several difficult reds into pottable positions and is now on the colours.

Only the brown is off its spot. He tries to nudge it off the cushion when potting the green but just misses it. So just a safety.

Another tight frame going down to the final balls!

Ooh but he undercuts a red on 65 and leaves it over the pocket as a gift for Mark Selby.

Murphy only needed that red and a colour to leave Selby requiring snookers.

This is the sort of frame Selby has made a career out of stealing...

I'm always entranced by Mark Selby's stubble. It invariably looks flawless, not a hair out of place. Something to really aspire to.

We're seeing plenty of close-ups of it at the minute - but that's because he's stuck in his chair again.

Shaun Murphy is on the march in frame three.

Image source, Getty Images

If Shaun Murphy lifts the Crucible crown on Monday, it would be a record period of time between a player winning his first and second world titles.

He stunned the snooker world to lift the title as a qualifier in 2005 by beating Matthew Stevens in the final but that, if you need reminding or mathematical assistance, was 16 years ago.

Murphy has, of course, reached the final twice in that time, losing to John Higgins in 2009 and Stuart Bingham in 2015.

All said, that is some remarkable longevity from a player who has been a top-16 stalwart pretty much that whole entire time.