Wu Yize battled to reach his fourth ranking event semi-final, prevailing 5-4 against world number 16 Chris Wakelin at the BetVictor Scottish Open in Edinburgh.
Victory for talented 21-year-old Wu moves him within two games of grasping maiden ranking event glory.
The Chinese star was named Rookie of the Year, after a fine breakthrough season in 2022. Since then, he’s continued to demonstrate his considerable potential.
Earlier this season Wu went on a run to the BetVictor English Open final, which included a win over Judd Trump, before a nerve shredding 9-7 loss to Neil Robertson.
Wu, who plays compatriot Xiao Guodong in the semis, now knows that he is two wins away from a maiden ranking title and the Stephen Hendry Trophy.
Winning the event will move him above Robertson in the BetVictor Series standings ahead of the finale at the Welsh Open. The prize money leader in the series will scoop a £150,000 bonus.
Defeat for Wakelin ends another deep run in a season which has seen him make the top 16 in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings for the first time in his career. As a result, he can look ahead to a Johnstone’s Paint Masters debut at Alexandra Palace in January.
The opening stages of the match saw Wakelin take charge, breaks of 107 and 51 gave him a 2-0 advantage. However, Wu replied by claiming the third and fourth with runs of 82 and 72 to draw level at 2-2.
Wakelin regained the advantage by winning the fifth, but it was Wu who took two on the bounce to move to the verge of victory at 4-3.
A gutsy contribution of 103 from Wakelin forced a decider, where he had an opportunity to win before missing a red to the middle. Wu stepped up and ruthlessly fired in 66 to seal victory.
Wu said: "I'm quite satisfied with my form. Last night, before the match, I watched some of my games from last year. I feel that I’ve improved in many aspects overall, and that’s something that makes me really happy.
"In the first frame, my cue tip had some issues and even miscued. Fortunately, my dad was with me, as I don’t know how to fix a tip myself. After the second frame, I asked him to help adjust it.
"I often see online that Edinburgh is described as a very romantic city. I visited here in 2021 and spent two or three days exploring. This is my first time competing in Edinburgh and everything feels amazing. My focus now is to give my best performance in the tournament and after it’s over, I plan to take my dad on a little tour around the city."
On the other table, Xiao scored a 5-1 defeat of 2023 World Champion Luca Brecel to book his spot in the last four.
It's been a landmark season for Xiao, who won his maiden ranking title at the Wuhan Open and was runner-up at the invitational Champion of Champions.
Defeat for Brecel ends an important run, which has gone a long way towards staving off the very real threat of dropping out of the world's top 64, when the points for his 2023 Crucible victory drop off at the end of the season.
The opening stages of this afternoon's encounter were truncated, with Xiao moving 2-1 ahead after winning a 50-minute third frame. He then clicked into gear, with breaks of 106 and 81 on his way to crossing the line after five frames in a row.