Arch-rivals Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire will lock horns tomorrow in this season's Honghe Industrial China Open final.
On-fire Maguire pocketed a memorable maximum 147 break in a dramatic 6-5 final-frame victory over Welshman Ryan Day.
And there was also success for Englishman Murphy as he bravely battled back from 3-2 behind to beat compatriot Mark Selby 6-3 in their semi-final clash at the Beijing Sports Gymnasium.
This season's Masters and Welsh Open winner Selby pocketed breaks of 54, 95 and 132 for a 3-2 lead, but saw Murphy progress to the final thanks to breaks of 64, 73 and 77.
'I'm very pleased to win and to be in the final,' said Murphy, who is accompanied this week by wife Clare and her parents.
'It's been a bit frustrating losing in the semi-finals, but I've been pleased with the consistency I've shown this season and now I've got the chance to win a trophy.
'I showed a lot of patience tonight. Mark is a fantastic player and he always makes the game difficult for his opponent.
'He wanted me to attack and go for my shots. but I decided to hang back and wait for him to make the mistakes.'
A disappointed Selby reflected: 'I struggled throughout the match, apart from the one frame where I made a century.
'Shaun wasn't brilliant either but he deserved to win. I had chances in the balls but I didn't score well enough.
'I'll get back to the practice table once I'm home and make sure I'm in good shape for (the World Championships in) Sheffield.'
Maguire rewrote the record books with his brilliant total clearance in the second frame against good friend Day, the first maximum to ever be compiled in a ranking tournament in Asia.
After spreading the reds perfectly early in the frame, this season's Northern Irish champion took little over 13 minutes to clear all 15 reds and 15 blacks and the colours.
'It was brilliant to get a 147, apart from winning tournaments it's one of the best feelings you'll ever have,' reflected a delighted Maguire.
'147s don't come along very often, so I'm going to savour this moment for a very long time.
'It was a very good match to be involved in. It was very tense towards the end, so it was just nice to get over the winning line.
'Potting the last black was just great but I had to compose myself because it was a pressure shot.
'I wasn't nervous, I'd have been annoyed with myself if I'd had missed it.'
Maguire's 147 was the 61st in snooker history, the 38th in a ranking event and the fifth this season.
It was the Glaswegian's second 147 of his career, nearly eight years after his maximum in the qualifying rounds of the Scottish Open.
Breaks of 51 and his special 147 saw Maguire lead 2-0, only for world number 16 Day to edge 4-2 ahead, thanks to breaks of 104, 89 and 70.
But thanks to breaks of 61, 75 and a pressure 58 run in the decider, it was Maguire who deservedly progressed to his third ranking event final of this season.
