Tony Drago booked a place in the last 16 of the European Open late last night following a tense 5-4 win over Alan McManus in a match that left the capacity crowd at the Hilton Hotel locked to their seats until the very last shot.
The Maltese professional needed all his skills and nerves of steel to recover from two frames down before coming out on top in a thrilling decisive ninth frame.
This evening Drago will be facing another tough opponent in Masters champion Paul Hunter.
"That was really hectic," an exhausted Drago said after the match.
"I'm happy with the way I'm adapting myself to different situations in the game. It was important for me to level the score at 2-2 before the break. That helped me focus on my game even better.
"However, the biggest plus for me was the way I played in the decider. Very few people would have imagined me being so patient and that I could play such a good defensive game."
The match endured a scrappy start with both players committing various errors. McManus finally pulled the strings together, clearing the colours to take frame one.
Drago raced into a 40-1 lead in the second but went in-off to hand the initiative to his opponent who moved 2-0 up. In the third frame, the same script was about to be written when Drago, enjoying a 47-0 lead, missed a simple red but the Scot failed to capitalise, missing the yellow to let Drago get off the mark.
Luck was on Drago's side in the fourth frame. He fluked a red that set him on the way to restore parity when his initial intention was clearly a safety shot.
Drago showed marked progress after the interval and with a run of 56 he won the sixth frame 74-36 to take the lead for the first time.
McManus then looked in a good position to level matters but failed to pot the yellow in the centre pocket and the local favourite went on to clear the table - 58-57.
With only one frame to seal his win, Drago failed to make the most of that positive spell as some sloppy positioning on the cue ball proved costly, McManus crawling his way back to level the tie at four-all.
The decider was a nail-biting affair. Drago, unusually calm at such nervy situations, seemed to have taken a decisive break but then bad positioning again gave McManus a lifeline.
With everyone expecting Drago to wilt under the pressure, it was the Valletta pro who showed impressive defensive skills. After a tense 45 minutes, McManus lost composure as Drago went on to wrap up the match to the loud cheers of the home crowd.
Earlier in the day, Hunter, fresh from his sensational victory at the Wembley Arena, continued his hot streak with a 5-1 defeat of Brian Morgan.
The world No.8 from Leeds was not at his best but breaks of 37, 35, 43, 49 and 39 helped him to a comfortable win.
"I'm still on a high from the Masters," said Hunter. "I got a tape of it from the BBC so I've been watching it, just to remind myself how it all happened.
"I haven't got a great record in overseas tournaments, probably because I've enjoyed myself too much when we've gone abroad in the past.
"I'm trying to be more disciplined - I've got my head down and I want to win this event. The hotel and the people here are lovely, you couldn't ask for more."
Williams beaten 5-1
Anthony Hamilton created the biggest shock so far after eliminating Mark Williams 5-1 yesterday.
Hamilton, ranked 20, potted a 133 in the fifth frame on his way to a famous win over the world champion. He now plays Quinten Hann for a place in the quarter-finals.
Hamilton was obviously delighted with his performance.
"Luckily Mark had an off night. He had a red along the cushion to go 4-2 and if that had gone in it could have been anyone's game. Hopefully my opponents will keep missing," he said.
Yesterday's results
Higgins vs Pinches 5-0 (88-0, 73-1, 54-38, 72-53, 132-0)
Dott vs Henry 5-3 (45-39, 60-54, 13-98, 53-41, 28-89, 57-58, 69-29, 62-54)
Hunter vs Morgan 5-1 (74-34, 2-68, 78-33, 66-1, 72-0, 62-46)
Hendry vs Michie 5-1 (71-8, 73-26, 48-67, 79-1, 56-45, 66-30)
White vs Wattana 5-4 (67-12, 57-70, 66-43, 36-68, 7-75, 64-9, 78-0, 48-69, 74-1)
Hann vs Bedford 5-0 (61-51, 89-9, 66-22, 74-17, 68-10)
Hamilton vs Williams 5-1 (81-0, 71-61, 9-85; 76-41; 133-8; 58-50)
Drago vs McManus 5-4 (37-58, 42-76, 67-43, 62-46, 74-36, 58-57, 8-84, 12-74, 68-33)
Playing today
Noon - O'Sullivan vs Small; Davis vs Lee.
4 p.m. - Maguire vs Perry; Dott vs Higgins; Hendry vs White.
8 p.m. - Gray vs Robertson; Hunter vs Drago; Hann vs Hamilton.