Judd Trump beat John Higgins 6-3 to go through to the semi-finals of the Players Championship in Southport.
Despite not scoring a century break, Trump remained consistent throughout, and three breaks of over 65 were enough to see him through to the semi-final.
Higgins did hit a century break, potting 123 in the fifth, but it was not enough to beat the current world champion.
"It was a scrappy game, but I was in control at 3-1," said 30-year-old Trump.
"He made it 3-3 and after that the balls went scrappy and we were both fighting for our lives to get the semi-finals. I was able to find a few good pots towards the end and that got me over the line.
"It is always pretty special to beat him in any tournament. To keep that momentum playing him is very important. You don’t want to lose at any point or you lose the fear factor.
"This is a big tournament, so being able to beat him and keep that fear factor is important."
In the afternoon session, Mark Allen beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-3 to reach the last eight.
Allen recorded three century breaks of 129, 132 and 123 to go through to the next round, despite admitted afterwards that he was feeling ill.
He'll face Shaun Murphy next after the former world champion showed plenty of grit to win a final-frame decider in a 6-5 defeat of David Gilbert.