Yan Bingtao got the better of Mark Allen to win 6-4 and set up an all-Chinese final in the German Masters.
Yan won three frames in a row to take a 4-2 lead, which was halved when Allen stroked in a break of 104 to match Yan's own century earlier in the match.
The next two frames were shared before Yan called a foul on himself when seemingly poised to win the match, which sent frame 10 the distance and saw both miss chances to finish it.
Allen found a remarkable snooker which his opponent failed to escape, which left the Northern Irishman needing blue, pink and black to force a re-spotted black and keep his fading hopes alive.
But after twice missing the pink, first a regulation pot to middle and then a thinner second chance, Allen gave Yan the opening he'd been waiting for and this time the vital pot found the pocket.
It means Yan is through to face friend and compatriot Zhao Xintong, whose breakout season produced another high as he rattled off five frames in a row to beat Ricky Walden 6-3.
A brilliant winner of the UK Championship in December, the Chinese youngster has earned rave reviews from across the sport for his flowing snooker, but this was evidence of his gritty side as he rallied from a difficult position.
Walden will rue a missed green which had it gone in might've seen him lead 4-1, and from that moment the game changed as Zhao pinched the frame, then produced breaks of 65, 72 and 100.
It was a change of gear which left Walden unable to respond and sees Zhao on the cusp of another ranking win, though Yan represents a still tougher examination in Sunday's final.
“It is amazing to be in the final for a second time, I will enjoy it tomorrow,” said Zhao, speaking before his opponent was known. "I want to play Bingtao, because it is very important to Chinese snooker. I want to play against him in the final.
“Today we didn’t play very well and I was 3-1 down at the mid-session. The fifth frame was very important to me because he missed an easy green. It was very important to win that frame and when I made it 3-2 I thought I had a chance to win the match. I was really focussed, knew I needed to win and I did.
“I liked it today. It is such a beautiful venue and there were lots of beautiful fans in there. I liked it, but it did put a bit of pressure on me.”
