A break of 89 in the deciding frame was enough for John Higgins to defeat Yan Bingtao at the Cazoo Champion of Champions in Bolton.
Yan pinched two tight first frames on the colours whilea break of 51 just about got Higgins over the line in the third, despite a torturous 28-minute hunt for a snooker from his opponent.
A poor miss from Higgins let Yan in for a 74 to take a two-frame lead at the interval, leading 3-1.
The Scot pounced back with a break of 89 for a 3-2 lead, and made the same score in the final frame for a 6-5 win.
He will face Judd Trump - who has won his last 16 consecutive frames - in Sunday's final
