Ronnie O'Sullivan survived a thrilling Brighton battle before finally booking his place in the semi-finals of the British Open today.
The `Rocket' came close to elimination at the hands of giant-killer Gerard Greene but won the last two frames to record a hard-fought 5-4 victory.
However, O'Sullivan only went through after Greene, the world number 38, suffered a huge slice of bad fortune in the deciding frame.
Greene, who sent Ken Doherty and Joe Swail packing earlier in the week, had a chance to clinch victory but in potting the pink from the last red, the cue ball cannoned the black and found a middle pocket.
It presented O'Sullivan with the perfect opportunity to clinch the match on the colours, and he took it to scrape into the semi-finals.
O'Sullivan said: "You don't like to see something like that happen in a decider.
"It's a nightmare but it's happened to me before and you have to deal with it.
"I'd have rather have gone through by potting a good ball. It's not an ideal way to win but sometimes the balls have a mind of their own.
O'Sullivan led 2-0 before Greene roared back to 2-2 with breaks of 107 and 65.
He should have won the fifth as well but O'Sullivan obtained the snooker he needed and stole it on the black.
Greene could have been expected to crumble but he hit back with runs of 51 and 44 to claim a 4-3 lead before O'Sullivan replied with 98 to force the decider.
PA