Cryptic crossword clue
Highly influential, if admitted to part of penultimate round 4-5

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word SEMI-FINAL

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
E
M
I
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F
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N
A
L

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "penultimate round" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case penultimate round = semi-final.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does SEMI-FINAL mean?

SEMI-FINAL noun
  1. A playoff in the round with only four players or teams left, the stage before the final.
  2. (general) A competition that narrows a field of contestants (semifinalists) to a set of finalists, for a subsequent final.

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