Chang Bingyu took advantage of some sloppy mistakes from Ronnie O'Sullivan to win 6-3 and reach the final of the Wuhan Open.
The youngster, touted by many as the next in line to follow Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize and reach the summit of the sport, only needed a high break of 73 to win a match which never caught fire in the way many had hoped.
O'Sullivan had chances in every frame but the match was lost after the mid-session interval, which he'd entered at 2-2 having clawed his way back to parity from 2-0 down.
At his best, no doubt O'Sullivan would've accelerated through these frames but he broke down among the balls to go behind again, then missed a vital black which would've seen him draw level again at 3-3.
O'Sullivan did take the next with a run of 58, just his second half-century, but Chang quickly restored his advantage and wrapped up victory in a ninth frame which was emblematic of the contest as a whole.
Among the balls and faced with the simplest of reds which even a modest club player would've expected to pot with ease, a careless O'Sullivan left it in the jaws before slumping in his chair to watch his young rival finish the job.
It will therefore be an all-Chinese final, with Chang to face either Zhao or Xiao Guodong on Saturday.
Chang told WST: "Every time I play against Ronnie, it’s a pleasure. He probably wasn’t in the best form today, and I managed to take some of the opportunities that came my way. I think my safety play was probably better right from the start today, and I could clearly feel that my safety game was much better than it had been before.
"Last year in Saudi Arabia, I was 5-2 ahead but ended up letting him come back and win the match. My safety play probably wasn’t as good then as it is now. When I was ahead and he started pulling a few frames back, my mindset wobbled a little. Today I also had some of that, but I tried my best to stay calm."
O'Sullivan meanwhile referred once again to the 'disease' within his game and says he's giving himself until the end of next year to find a cure.
O'Sullivan said: "The disease came back big time today. If I'm honest I don't think I will ever get over it. I will see out the next 18 months and see how we go. I don't want to throw the towel in just yet. I've committed to playing until then. I want to give myself a chance. I'd hate to finish my career on performances like that."