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Four-time world champion Mark Selby held off a stirring fightback from Ryan Day – who produced a brilliant 147 and a rare 16-red ball clearance – to reach the Tour Championship semi-finals.
After Day’s maximum in the third frame, Selby played patiently to move 6-2 going into Thursday’s final session.
Selby extended his lead to 8-2 before Day cut the deficit to 8-5 and 9-7.
But Day’s hopes of a memorable comeback ended when Selby sealed a 10-7 win and set up a semi-final with Shaun Murphy.
Selby, who will regain the world number one ranking from Ronnie O’Sullivan if he wins the title in Hull, faces 2005 world champion Murphy on Saturday.
“I felt good out there and every time I had a chance I felt I was going to score and win the frame,” Selby told ITV Sport.
“At 8-2 I played a red to get high on the blue – I played it terrible. Ryan played OK to come back but it was one of those scenarios where at 8-2 you let your arm go and then you start flying.”
It was a nervier finish for Selby in the best-of-19-frames quarter-final than he would have anticipated when he made a strong start to the evening session.
The 39-year-old Englishman looked in total command before Wales’ Day began to find his rhythm and applied pressure with confident break building.
Potting a free ball set up the 16-ball red and a break of 139, which reduced the deficit to 9-6, and another break of 60 put him within two frames.
However, Day missed a long red in the 17th frame which provided an opening for Selby and he carved out a break of 77 which enabled him to finally seal the win.
China’s Ding Junhui meets England’s Kyren Wilson in the first semi-final on Friday, with the final taking place at the Bonus Arena on Sunday.
The eight participants in this event were determined by the points won in ranking tournaments in this season’s events prior to the Tour Championship.
The winner will pick up a first prize of £150,000 out of a total prize fund of £380,000.
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