Peter Ebdon admitted he would have been "a broken man" had he failed to reach his third Crucible final after revealing his four children were flying over from Dubai for the conclusion of the World Championship.
Ebdon threw away a 15-9 overnight against Marco Fu and the pair were locked on 16-16 before the 2002 champion squeezed home with the aid of a 54 break in the final frame.
The 35-year-old has had a poor season, failing to reach a single quarter-final in a ranking event, but he has again reserved his best form for snooker's most important tournament.
Ebdon said: "I was hating the fact I would have to explain to (wife) Deborah I had lost from 15-9 down. She would have killed me. That would have broken my heart.
"As well, my four children are flying over from Dubai so you could have imagined what it would have meant had I been beaten in the semi-final.
"I've not seen the children for six weeks so it would have been brilliant to see them but I think I would have been a broken man had I gone under.
"But this means so much to me. I worked harder for this tournament than any tournament in my career. My fitness is good, I'm very strong. I've worked so hard on the table."