Poland's Antoni Kowalski came through a rollercoaster clash with James Cahill 4-3 to make the final round of Q School Event Two in Leicester and move within one match of a professional tour card.
The 20-year-old will now play Englishman Simon Blackwell tomorrow morning for a place on the World Snooker Tour. Blackwell earned his place in the final round thanks to a 4-1 win over Hamin Hussain.
Kowalski has already showcased his potential with some fine performances on the Q Tour last season, winning event four and making the playoffs, before suffering defeat in the semi-finals.
Breaks of 73 and 91 saw Kowalski charge into an early 3-0 lead. However, Cahill, a former conqueror of Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible, came back with three on the bounce to level up at 3-3. The final frame came down to the final black, which was safe on the side cusion. Kowalski developed it from the pink and clipped a tricky cut into the middle to emerge victorious.
Kowalski said: "I composed myself in the decider. It was a shock for me. If you know me, then you know I am normally pretty angry whilst playing snooker. It was a big change and a big change which is a positive one.
"When I am off the table, I don't think that much. On the snooker table I am the most confident person in the world, maybe apart from Ronnie (O'Sullivan)! Other than that I am just a normal person."
Ukraine's Iulian Boiko came through a 4-3 thriller against Estonian Andres Petrov. Victory for Boiko sees him earn a place in the final round against Farakh Ajaib, who won 4-1 against his fellow former professional Sean O'Sullivan.
Lewis Ullah overcame Steven Hallworth 4-3 and will now play Chris Totten, who beat Dylan Emery 4-2. Mitchell Mann and Joshua Thomond will contest the other match. They defeated Josh Mulholland and Zachary Richardson respectively.