Ronnie O'Sullivan raced into the final of the Welsh Open in Newport with an outstanding exhibition of break-building in Newport.
O'Sullivan now faces Leicester's Mark Selby for the title and a first prize of £35,000 over the best of 17 frames tomorrow after overpowering in-form Shaun Murphy 6-3.
Selby went through by pulling away from 4-4 to beat Stephen Hendry 6-4.
In fact, O'Sullivan, attempting to capture his third title of the season after the Premier League and UK Championship, was superb in defeating Murphy for the third time in as many meetings.
Murphy, who won the Malta Cup six days ago, made the most encouraging start imaginable, stealing the first frame with a 70 clearance after O'Sullivan missed a straightforward pink on 51.
The following three frames were each a story of breaks, 76 and 113 from O'Sullivan, 76 from Murphy as they quickly arrived at the mid-session interval at 2-2.
O'Sullivan's hot streak continued in the fifth frame as a 101 break enabled him to lead for the first time at 3-2 before Murphy replied by winning a relatively scrappy sixth.
Even though the reds were spread unusually far apart in the seventh, many either in or near baulk, O'Sullivan's positional artistry contributed to a 14-red run of 75 for 4-3 that was twice nearly derailed by excessively springy cushion bounces.
Murphy could not respond as, from a pair of long reds, O'Sullivan finished in wonderfully fluent fashion with runs of 62 and a 143 total clearance.
The latter qualified him for the tournament's £2,000 highest break award.
Now only Selby can prevent O'Sullivan becoming the third player after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry to reach the milestone of 20 world ranking tournament successes.
Murphy was left to mull over a fourth semi-final defeat of the 2007/08 campaign after also losing at the same stage of the Grand Prix, Northern Ireland Trophy and UK Championship.
