Judd Trump admitted his nerves were frayed after reaching the World Championship final with victory over Ding Junhui.
The 21-year-old had to come through qualifying to play in Sheffield but he now has the chance to win the greatest tournament of all after a superb display to down the talented Chinese star at the Crucible.
The Bristol man fell 15-14 behind in mid-afternoon but took three frames in a row to clinch a high-class match and book a final place against either mark Williams or John Higgins.
Trump, who won the China Open at the start of the month, was delighted with the result but confessed that it was hard to keep it together as the finishing line approached.
"It hasn't sunk in yet. I'll have to go away and have a little think about it," he said. "Towards the end I've never felt nerves like it.
"Even though the balls were all there, it kinds of hits you really. I just took my time and knew if I didn't miss anything silly they were all there to be taken.
"It was definitely the best match I've been involved in."