Chris Wakelin beat Xiao Guodong 9-8 in a final-frame decider to advance to the final of the International Championship in Nanjing.
The Englishman led 5-3 after the opening session and moved 8-5 ahead but began to falter, allowing China’s Xiao to draw level in a tense finale.
However, the former supermarket delivery driver sealed his win with a composed break of 67 and with it secured a place in the top 16 of the world rankings for the first time, which means he will be seeded for the UK Championship later this month.
The 32-year-old, who compiled eight half-centuries and a century, will now face Ding Junhui or Xu Si in Sunday’s final.
“I’ve worked my entire life at this game for moments like this,” said an emotional Wakelin.
“That was the hardest match of my life. From 8-5 I threw it away. I made ridiculously easy mistakes. In the decider I knew it was now or never.
“I had to forget about what had happened. I’m so relieved to have a day off tomorrow because I’m done in.”
Wakelin, who has beaten three former world champions – Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams and John Higgins – at the tournament will appear in only the third ranking event final of his career.