Peter Manley fired a warning to his rivals for the Paddy Power World Grand Prix title in Dublin tonight with a 4-2 success over Dennis Smith in the quarter-finals.
Manley, who won his first major title at the Las Vegas Desert Classic in July and followed up with a semi-final appearance at the Stan James World Matchplay in Blackpool, oozed confidence for the first half of the contest at the Citywest Hotel, but then had to dig deep to get over the finishing line.
The world number three opened with a 101 checkout and quickly reeled off the next two legs to clinch the first set. Smith is a gutsy competitor, but Manley's finishing ability helped him take the second set 3-1.
The first four legs of the third were shared, before Manley nailed double eight to move within one set of victory. Smith then launched a comeback bid and won six of the next nine legs to reduce the deficit, but Manley regained his composure and reeled off three straight legs to move into the semi-finals.
"I managed to go 2-0 up, and then Dennis let me in to take the third set and move within one of victory," said Manley.
"Really, it was like waiting for a bus - it (the win) was eventually going to happen. There was no way I was going to lose from that position.
"However, I'm not playing well enough at the moment to win this tournament. But I'm in the semis, and tomorrow's another day."