Maximum man Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Barry Hawkins in tomorrow's Kilkenny Irish Masters final.
O'Sullivan was a 6-5 semi-final winner over Scot John Higgins, while Hawkins held his nerve to clinch victory over Fergal O'Brien by the same scoreline at the Ormonde Hotel.
'The pockets are really big - I couldn't miss out there,' said O'Sullivan, who added breaks of 80, 53, 69, 134 and 90 to his quarter-final 147, the seventh maximum of his career.
‘To be honest, John played better than me, he deserved to win, O’Sullivan said afterwards.
'I played well, but the table helped me. It was a great atmosphere in the arena. The Irish love their snooker, so it was good fun.'
Wishaw's Higgins was started better and edged 2-0 ahead, only to then lose the third frame despite a break of 69.
Last year's Masters and Grand Prix champion was in good form, with breaks of 65, 96 and 63, but it was two-time world champion O'Sullivan who edged through after a final-frame decider.
'The pockets are big, so it made for a good match,' said Higgins.
'It's hard to gauge how well I'm playing, but I've had a couple of good wins this week, which has been good for my confidence.
'I want to start playing better and find a bit of form because the World Championship is not far away.'
In the other semi, Dubliner O'Brien pocketed breaks of 59, 71, 109 and 65, but Hawkins had three centuries - 131, 104 and 107 - as well as a break of 72 to battle back from 5-2 behind to win the last four frames.
O'Sullivan's 147 came against Joe Swail earlier in the day and was only the second maximum break in a professional tournament in Ireland.
But, in a bitter twist to his impressive total clearance, the two-time world champion later found out he had not won a car as he first thought.
Tournament organisers had promised a car to any player who pocketed a 147 break, but withdrew their offer claiming they had not been able to gain adequate insurance for the new vehicle.
'I only went for the maximum because I thought I was going to win a car, but now I've found out I'm not going to win one, I'm gutted!' said this year's SAGA Insurance Masters champion.
'It was a good atmosphere out there. The crowd went mad for the 147 - and it's nice to make a boost to the new tournament.'
O'Sullivan's disappointment at missing out on the car was slightly eased when tournament organisers said he would win €2,000 for the highest-break prize.
'Well, at least it's a bit of spending money,' quipped the Rocket.
Victory tomorrow would see him claim this year's €20,000 prize-winners cheque.
