Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Wu Yize 6-5 to reach the World Open final as he seeks his first ranking title in more than two years.
A day after registering a world record 153 break in a dominant 5-0 win over Ryan Day, O'Sullivan was made to work much harder by one of the brightest young talents in the game.
O'Sullivan led 2-0 and 3-1 but Wu pegged him back to all-square at 3-3, making it a best-of-five for a place in Sunday's title decider.
And it needed all five frames to separate them, Wu responding to O'Sullivan's breaks of 97 and 118 with runs of 86 and 77 to send a brilliant tussle the distance.
Wu looked like he would steal it when leading 43-0 in the decider but a brilliant 89 clearance saw O'Sullivan progress to face Thepchaiyah Un-Nooh in what seems sure to be a free-flowing final.
In it, O'Sullivan will seek his first win since the 2024 World Grand Prix, where he beat Trump to lift the trophy.
Un-Nooh was a no less dramatic 6-4 winner in a thrilling contest with Trump.
Right from the first frame, which Trump won despite needing four snookers, this had all the hallmarks of a game involving Un-Nooh, who produced moments of magic and no shortage of howlers.
He edged 5-4 in front in contentious style, Trump later questioning why the referee had not ruled push shot when the Thai potted a key red, and had the match at his mercy when missing a routine pink in the next.
With the score locked at 56-56, Trump fluked the same ball but didn't land on the black, and when his attempted double hit the middle jaw, Un-Nooh was left with a choice between improbable long pot or simple safety.
True to form he chose the former and in wobbled the black, earning Sporting Life readers guaranteed returns from their 66/1 each-way bets and setting up a mouthwatering final.
O'Sullivan bagged a world record on Friday. With Thepchaiyah his opponent, he might now be thumbing through the Guinness book in search of a shot clock target to aim at.
