SHEFFIELD Tigers have given themselves a great chance of reaching the Premier League Grand Final after a storming 62-31 win over reigning champions King's Lynn at Owlerton.
Lynn were expected to push Sheffield all the way but unbelievably found themselves 15-3 down after three successive Sheffield race maximums.
And even though the Stars grabbed some respite with a fourth race 4-2, Sheffield were cutting in their response with four more 5-1s in the next five heats.
That made the score an unbelievable 40-17 after nine races from which the Norfolk side were never able to recover.
The return leg is at the Norfolk Arena next Wednesday, October 10.
Said Tigers chief Neil Machin: "This went a long way towards making amends for some horrible results against Lynn this season - but we know the job is only half done.
"We wanted revenge against them and the boys were superb right down the order, it was a fabulous performance. We have to go to the Norfolk Arena next week and make sure we get the aggregate win, but confidence is going through the roof right now."
TIGERS: A. Compton 14+1, R. Ashworth 13+2, B. Wilson 10, P. Cooper 8+3, J. Parsons 7, J. Cockle 6+1, J. Frampton 4+2. KING'S LYNN: D. Nermark 10, T. Topinka 8, C. Mills 5, T. Harding 4, P. Lee 2, A. Allott 2, B. Compton 0.