Tearful Peter Ebdon survived a stunning comeback from Marco Fu to edge into his third 888.com World Championship final at the Crucible Theatre.
Dubai-based Ebdon was a hot favourite to triumph against the Hong Kong potter after holding a 15-9 overnight lead in the best-of-33-frames semi-final contest.
But Fu, who has been coached by former world champion Terry Griffiths since November, showed the resilience associated with the Welshman during his distinguished career and refused to buckle.
The 28-year-old, bidding to become the first Asian player to reach the final, won the opening six frames of the final session - chalking up a 50-plus break in each of them - to draw level.
2002 world champion Ebdon looked shell-shocked and struggled to reproduce the form which had seen him accumulate three hundreds and eight half-centuries yesterday.
But he eventually managed to scrape over the finishing line at 17-16 and is now poised to meet Graeme Dott, who needs only one more frame to dispose of Ronnie O'Sullivan going into the final session after opening up a 16-8 advantage.
Despite his close shave, Ebdon will be delighted to reach the final given the fact he had failed to reach a single ranking quarter-final this season before arriving at Sheffield.
But Fu can take great heart for the future after putting his career back on track after slipping down to 41 in the provisional rankings prior to this tournament.
He has never won a ranking event - his best performance was runner-up in the 1998 Grand Prix - and had triumphed in only three matches in 2005-2006 ahead of these championships.
Ebdon could not maintain the stunning form he had demonstrated yesterday when he compiled three centuries and eight other 50-plus breaks.
But Fu deserves huge credit for not throwing in the towel when facing an apparent lost cause.
Fu had to make early inroads and won a 36 minute opening frame with the aid of a half-century, while a 68 clearance was sufficient for him to take the next.
The Hong Kong cueman was visibly growing in confidence and, after Ebdon had missed a pink into the black pocket, he stepped in with his first century of the match.
The pre-interval whitewash was completed as a run of 53 by Fu left his opponent needing snookers.
Fu continued in the same vein when the players re-entered the arena and incredibly Fu drew level with a 75 break in frame 29, followed by 103 in the next after Ebdon missed a straight blue into the middle pocket.
That made it 15-15 and in effect meant a best-of-three shoot-out would decide who went through.
Ebdon stopped the rot with breaks of 38 and 35 to edge back in front but it became 16-16 after a green to pink clearance from his opponent.
The atmosphere in the auditorium was electric and both players produced some fine safety play before a brave red to the black pocket gave Ebdon a chance - and he put together a 54 to lead 67-13 with five reds remaining.
Fu attempted a difficult red but left Ebdon with another opportunity and this time he made no mistake - although he was in tears.
