Stuart Bingham brilliantly held his nerve to beat Judd Trump and complete a fairytale run to the final of the Betfred World Championship.
The 38-year-old saw off Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals and followed that by demolishing stunned Trump's title hopes with a 17-16 triumph, to set up a shot at Shaun Murphy over Sunday and Monday.
It seemed the Basildon man was in trouble when Trump rifled in breaks of 108 and 129 to come from 16-14 behind and force the deciding frame.
But if he was feeling the tension, it did not show in the audacious plant that set him on a victory march, Bingham taking on a shot so risky that had he missed it the match would have surely swayed Trump's way.
Trump looked crestfallen, but once Bingham was over the winning line the Bristolian stepped up to shake his conqueror's hand and offer warm congratulations.
Trump felt he had a ruinous kick on a red he missed in the final frame, and said: "It's tough to take really. I needed one good chance.
"If I'd missed the pot normally then fair play but the kick threw it off line.
"I'd worked my way back into the game and to lose it by no fault of your own ... it's so unlucky to have a kick at that time.
"In the end I lost it to a plant so I didn't do anything wrong there either.
"I felt very confident and was relaxed in that last frame.
"I feel it's been a little bit taken away from me."
Trump praised Bingham, saying: "He played really well throughout the whole game."
But according to Trump, Bingham will need to go up a level further to challenge Murphy, who was a clinical 17-9 victor against Barry Hawkins.
Asked if Bingham could beat Murphy, Trump said: "Not if he plays like that.
"If the crowd can spur him on, he's obviously got a chance but Shaun is going to be favourite."
