Shaun Murphy beat three-time winner Ding Junhui 6-5 in a final-frame decider to move into the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in York.
While Ding constructed a sparkling break of 129 in the opening frame, both players appeared far from their best until the closing stages of the contest.
In a see-saw affair Ding trailed 2-1 and led 3-2 before former UK winner Murphy reeled off three consecutive frames, with a superb run of 135 in the eighth frame his first break over 50 in the contest.
Ding, also the runner-up in the two previous years, responded with successive centuries to force an 11th frame but Murphy held his nerve, compiling a break of 65 on his way to victory.
He will now play world number 20 Barry Hawkins, who defeated fellow Englishman David Gilbert 6-5 in an equally hard-fought encounter.
Meanwhile, Jack Lisowski followed up his first-round victory against Mark Selby with an equally impressive 6-4 triumph against Ali Carter.
Breaks of 85, 63 and 106 helped the 33-year-old establish a 4-1 advantage before Carter reduced his arrears with a 68.
Lisowski, who is arguably the best player on the professional tour to have not won a ranking title, responded with a 97 and rounded off his win with a 52, with a late Carter fight back coming too late.
He will now play Mark Allen in the last eight after the Northern Irishman recovered from 4-2 down to beat Wu Yize 6-4.
Two half centuries had given Allen, the 2022 UK champion, a 2-0 advantage.
But 21-year-old Yize, from China – who did not pot a ball in either of those frames -then compiled breaks of 77, 117 and 79 as he reeled off four consecutive frames.
With the match seemingly slipping away Allen, the world number three, came into his own making two centuries and two half centuries to progress.