World champion Luca Brecel beat Neil Robertson 10-7 to advance to the final of the Shanghai Masters, where he'll face Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Brecel was never behind in the match and while Robertson kept on nipping at his heels, the Belgian secured his first victory over Saturday's opponent at the fourth time of asking.
The reward is a massive Sunday showdown with O'Sullivan for a winner's cheque of £210,000, almost half what Brecel earned with his World Championship triumph in the spring.
It was a slow start to the second semi-final, the first frame taking almost three-quarters of an hour and crawling into a 3-0 lead before Robertson got up and running with a break of 95.
When play resumed after the mid-session interval Robertson closed the gap to a single frame, before Brecel made his move and pulled clear. Breaks of 99 and 56 helped the 28-year-old on his way to three on the bounce and a 6-2 advantage.
Brecel then led 40-0 in the last frame of the session, but a loose safety allowed 2010 world champion Robertson in to compose a steely 90 and reduce his arrears to 6-3.
Hopes of a Robertson fightback increased when he reversed that opening session score, taking three of the first four in the evening to claw his way back within one.
However, Brecel responded with a break of 123 and while Robertson followed that with a century of his own, Brecel edged the next two to complete a win he deserved having never trailed.
