Ronnie O'Sullivan has reached the final of the German Masters with a 6-4 semi-final win against Stephen Lee.
O'Sullivan headed into the Berlin tournament with his world top-16 ranking, and automatic entry to the World Championships, under threat.
But the 36-year-old has responded by reaching Sunday's final, in which he faces Stephen Maguire or Shaun Murphy.
He raced into a 3-0 lead against Lee, surviving plucky fightbacks to 3-2 and 5-4 before clinching victory.
O'Sullivan, seeking his first ranking event title in two years, needed an impressive showing in Germany to avoid dropping out of the top 16 for the first time since he was a teenager.
Failure to retain his place would leave the three-time world champion facing a series of qualifying rounds to make it to The Crucible in April.
But he looks to be safe after his victory against Lee, based on that blistering start, in which he took the first three frames.
After hitting back by winning the next two, Lee then miscued when given a chance to make it 3-3. And he was made to pay by O'Sullivan, who cleared from green to black to reopen a two-frame lead.
It proved costly as O'Sullivan took two of the next four frames to book his spot in the final.
The Welsh Open, which starts on 13 February, is the last ranking event to count towards seeding for the World Championship.
