Former winner Stephen Hendry will battle it out with defending champion Shaun Murphy on Friday for a Malta Cup semi-final place.
The 2005 Malta champion won the three frames he needed to force a deciding group match with the Rotherham potter at the Hilton Conference Centre in Portomaso.
Hendry drew 3-3 with Scottish compatriot Stephen Maguire in the last of the evening matches to finish on day four of this year's £76,000 tournament.
And having extended his unbeaten run to three matches, the Perthshire-based professional must beat Murphy to make sure of his place in the next phase.
‘I know I've got to beat Shaun to get through, but I was pretty happy with the way I played,’ said Hendry.
‘I knew I needed at least a draw, so the last couple of frames didn't make much difference.’
Hendry started by pinching a scrappy first frame, only for Maguire - this season's Northern Ireland Trophy champion - to hit back with a break of 67 to level matters.
A composed break of 65 saw Hendry edge ahead again, before he doubled his advantage by winning a fragmented fourth frame to lead 3-1.
By reaching three frames Hendry knew he was assured of a showdown with Murphy, but a victory would have seen the players locked on a maximum six points from three matches.
However, Maguire's breaks of 63 and 71 secured the draw, which leaves Hendry with the task of trying to beat Murphy in their eagerly-anticipated final group match.
Murphy has already beaten Hendry this season, at the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast. And it comes as little surprise the world No 3 has taken plenty of confidence from that win.
‘I beat him (Stephen) in Belfast, so I've got good memories from that match,’ said Murphy.
‘Whatever the permutations are of our group situation, I'll be looking to get to four frames ahead of him and then hopefully looking forward to being here at the weekend.
‘Stephen is a fantastic player. I always enjoyed watching him play when I was a kid and I've always enjoyed playing against him as a professional.’
In the other evening match, Masters champion Mark Selby cruised to an impressive quickfire win over local favourite Tony Drago.
The Leicester cueman, who knew he could not qualify for the next phase, pocketed breaks of 76, 43, 110 and 101 in a 4-2 win.
Maltese professional Drago had breaks of 57 and 43 in the sixth frame, but by then the damage had been done as Selby triumphed in a staggering 58 minutes.
