Lei Peifan won four frames on the bounce to beat Mark Allen 6-5 in the semi-finals of the Scottish Open.
Allen was short odds to stamp his ticket to the final and a meeting with Wu Yize when easing into a 5-2 lead, but he missed chances and became increasingly edgy.
Lei played without fear to force an 11th frame, and he took the match in battling fashion as he won a deciding frame for the fourth time this week after seeing off Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham and Tom Ford earlier in the competition.
Lei was the first to get going in the opener, but his break was halted by a foul in his attempt to split the pack and Allen made him pay a heavy price with a fluent break of 73.
While the first was killed off in one visit, Allen required six bites to get the second in the bag. Handing a player of Allen’s quality multiple chances is not a wise policy, and despite appearing to struggle with the pace of the table, Allen picked off the colours to the pink to double his lead.
The errors continued from the cue of Lei, and a safety mistake at the start of the third was punished as Allen made 97 to press home his advantage.
‘That went like a bullet ‘ – Allen pots stunning red in second frame
Video credit: Eurosport
Lei got a foothold by taking the fourth, which went his way after Allen missed a mid-range red.
Nerves were at play in the fifth, with both players missing simple balls. The telling error came from Allen, who wriggled a green in the jaws one shot after sinking a brilliant yellow and Lei stepped in to clear to the pink to get within one frame.
Lei wins fifth frame after Allen misses green in Scottish Open semi-final
Video credit: Eurosport
There were concerns for Allen heading into the sixth, but he was handed a chance when Lei missed a blue by a distance. A break of 55 steadied the ship and he returned to the table after a safety exchange to win a 30-minute frame.
Lei had a big chance to pile the pressure back on Allen in the seventh as he was at the table to counter a break of 55 from his opponent and looked favourite to take it but he lost position from a red to the black and had to take a pink to the right middle. Playing it at pace to force an angle, it did not drop and Allen picked up the pieces to get within one frame of victory.
Lei kept himself alive by taking the eighth, a frame in which he showed his snooker-escaping skills were up to scratch.
With Allen chasing a snooker with one red left on the table, he played a series of excellent shots to leave his opponent in trouble. Time and again Lei found an escape, and his efforts were rewarded as Allen made a mistake after a 23-minute passage of play without a ball being potted.
Allen plays fiendish snooker and Lei makes superb escape
Video credit: Eurosport
There was a nervy miss of a pink from Allen in the eighth, and he played a heavy-handed safety in the ninth to gift an opening to Lei who made 54 to leave his opponent requiring a snooker.
After the brilliance Lei showed in the previous frame, it was a surprise he missed at the first time of asking. It did not prove terminal as Lei potted a brilliant red to get within one at 5-4.
Allen’s resolve was tested in the 10th as he had a good chance but broke down on 22 and was forced to play safe.
Lei found a stunning pot after an attacking Allen safety and made 51 to open up a sizeable lead.
Allen chased the frame but was unable to get a foothold, and Lei fluked the final red as the clock ticked beyond midnight to force a decider.
Lei made a statement in the decider with a brilliant long red, but did not drop on a colour. He remained positive and when a second chance presented itself he made 49 to get within touching distance of the final.
Allen made Lei fight for the win, but he got a sight of a red and sunk it to secure his place in a first ranking final.
Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Scottish Open, live and on demand on Eurosport and discovery+