Joe Perry is the second man through to the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions after narrowly edging man of the moment John Higgins 6-5 in Coventry.
The Englishman joins Kyren Wilson in the opposite side of the draw with the remaining two last four places to be decided in the next couple of days.
Players Championship winner Perry opened up his campaign at the Ricoh Arena with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Michael White, the Indian Open champion.
Earlier, in a slightly odd opening tie, Higgins got the better of Ali Carter by the same scoreline despite a brace of tons from the latter amid some distinctly scrappy snooker.
The quarter-final tie subsequently went the distance in the evening, with Perry and Higgins going toe-to-toe and there was never more than a frame between them throughout.
At 5-4 to Higgins, it looked like the Scot was going to continue his strong showing this season following his triumphs in the Australian Open and International Championship.
However, Perry forced a decided with a break of 87 and then took a one-sided shoot-out to dispatch of the 40 year-old and book his place in the last four.
On Thursday, Perry’s opponent will be determined as four more hopefuls clash for a semi-final berth.
Shaun Murphy takes on the second half of the World Cup Chinese winning duo in Yan Bingtao – just 15 years of age – while Ruhr Open champion Rory McLeod challenges Neil Robertson.
