John Higgins fended off the persistent challenge of Luca Brecel to win 10-7 and reach the final of the Cazoo Tour Championship.
Higgins was behind early but rattled off five frames in a row to secure a lead after the first session, before Brecel clawed his way back to 7-7 to set up a grandstand finish.
But Higgins, critical of his own snooker under pressure earlier this season, pinched frame 15, dominated frame 16 and then plotted his way to a match-winning break in frame 17, earning a meeting with Neil Robertson.
It was after surrendering a lead to Robertson in the final of the English Open earlier in the year that Higgins questioned whether he still had what it takes to win tournaments at the very highest level.
Here in Wales, he survived a final-frame decider to beat Zhao Xintong 10-9 having been 8-4 down, before a scrappy victory over Brecel in which he managed just one break over 60 and struggled from long range.
After the Belgian had rallied from 7-4 down to draw level with a century break, Higgins was forced to answer more difficult questions and again he did so, though the standard of play suggests Robertson will be a strong favourite in the final.
"I made too many mistakes," said Brecel, suggesting he felt short of practice coming in while a new snooker table is installed at home. "I never felt really sharp, but you don't practice enough you're always going to be on the losing side against these top players."
Higgins said: "It was a funny game. I needed him to miss a couple for me to get back into it. I had a couple of chances to extend the lead, I was only getting to 40 and then breaking down which you can't afford to do at this level.
"I played OK at the end, although I'm still missing a couple. But no, over the moon to get through."
Higgins only qualified when Robert Milkins beat Kyren Wilson in the final of the Gibraltar Open, but for which Wilson would've taken his place in the field for this elite tournament.
"I'm going to have to improve, the way Neil's playing," confessed the smiling Scot, relieved at having made the most of his chance so far, though admitting: "If I play the way I've played the first two games, I won't live with Neil."