Nick Matthew strengthened his assertion that even at age 33, he can reclaim the world squash title, producing a performance on Thursday which denied fellow former champion Amr Shabana a semi-final berth.
Matthew was enduringly efficient in crafting a straight-games victory over Shabana, a four-time world champion.
The Englishman's 11-8 11-4 11-7 win over the Egyptian was only really in doubt for a game and a half, after which Shabana's lack of matchplay following a lengthy illness became increasingly apparent.
"He is such a great player. Sometimes I sit back in the corner and I admire it," said Matthew.
"Then I remember I have to compete against it. I was nervous at the beginning, but the cheer I got from the crowd when I walked on relaxed me, so thank you to Manchester for that."
The value of a world championship only 100km from his Yorkshire home became increasingly apparent for Matthew, who identified his tactics correctly and executed them calmly.
This included extending the rallies early on - one of them lasting more than 80 shots - before identifying moments to risk the drops with more frequency.
By the end of the second game, Shabana had ceased to run all of them down and the outcome was becoming predictable.
Early in the third game, Shabana raised his arms to the heavens and blew ironic kisses after succeeding with a feather-light backhand volley drop.
Better might yet be to come from the 34-year-old, and Matthew was in no doubt that Shabana has it in him still to be a force when he has had more time to train and has played more tournaments.
Asked whether beating such a great player was as good as it gets, Matthew said: "Happy as I am now, I have to think it's a step along the way.
"I have to keep my feet on the floor. If I do the same thing on Sunday (the day of the world final), then I will think it is as good as it gets."
Matthew will play Ramy Ashour, the Egyptian who took away his title in Doha almost a year ago, or Saurav Ghosal, the first Indian to reach the world championships quarter-finals.