Ireland's Ken Doherty will play Mark Williams for a place in the final of the LG Cup at Preston after 5-3 win over Michael Holt today.
Doherty made breaks of 66 and 78 to lead 2-1 but Holt, who beat seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry in the second round, won the fourth and appeared to be heading for a 3-2 lead when he led 71-0 in the fifth.
Doherty, though, got two snookers and cleared from last red to black before a break of 109 put him 4-2 ahead.
Holt hit back by winning the seventh but could manage only two points in the eighth as Doherty clinched his semi-final place.
"The fifth frame was the pivotal point in the match," said Doherty, the world number six. "I knew winning that frame would be a killer blow for him."
Doherty began the new campaign by winning the Euro Asia Masters tournament in Bangkok and is full of confidence as he prepares to face Williams, who beat him in the world and UK championship finals last season.
"I feel like I can beat anybody," he said. "My thinking is different to this time last year. It's not about who you play, it's about how you play."