Zhou Yuelong booked his place in his fourth career ranking final with a 6-3 win over two-time BetVictorJak Jones English Open champion Mark Selby in Brentwood.
The Chinese 27-year-old surged into a 3-0 lead and kept Selby at bay to clinch a place in Sunday's final against either Mark Allen or Jak Jones.
Zhou will be hoping for better luck than his first ranking final in 2020, when he was whitewashed 9-0 by Neil Robertson in Milton Keynes.
Having consistently hovered around the world’s top 16, Zhou slumped to his current ranking of 32 after a poor season in which he failed to reach a single ranking event quarter-final.
However, he believes his renewed mental strength is making the difference in his quest to once again push towards a place among the game’s elite.
Zhou told wst.tv: "In this sport you need to be very strong mentally. When you are in the chair after missing a ball you need positive thoughts. This is a very big change for me this season.
"If I win tomorrow I will be very proud of myself. The first time, going from zero to one is tough. It isn’t easy, but I will give my best and hopefully I can do it."
Selby had shown signs of stirring when a 71 clearance stole frame four, but Zhou soon regained his three-frame advantage, and won two of the last four frames to secure his place in the final.
