Welsh Open:Mark Selby reached the last four of the Welsh Open with a 5-2 win over John Higgins and then drew praise from his opponent.
Selby's win set up a semi-final meeting with Stephen Hendry, carrying on his fine from from the Masters at Wembley into his victory over Higgins in Newport.
Selby, hoping to collect his first ranking title after coming out on top in the sport's most prestigious event at Wembley, underlined his current soaring level of confidence with victory over world champion Higgins.
And after being on the receiving end of breaks of 71, 67 and a match-clinching 101, Higgins could not have been more complimentary about his conqueror.
"If Mark carries on like this I think only Ronnie [O'Sullivan] is capable of stopping him at the Crucible," said Higgins.
"He's improved so much over the last year, he doesn't look as though he's going to miss, and he's a complete player now," added Higgins, who beat Selby 18-13 in the world final nine months ago.
"Mark was outstanding but I didn't play anywhere near as well as I could or should play which is really depressing.
"I came into this season with a lot of high hopes but it hasn't happened for me.
"Seeing Mark perform like that has made me realise I've just got to get back to hard practice between now and April to stand any chance of retaining my title at Sheffield."
While Higgins is far from happy, Selby could not be more content and believes there is room for improvement.
He said: "It's nice of John to say those things about me. My all round game is getting better and better and I'm scoring heavier than I've ever done but I know there are still things to work on."
Selby will be installed as favourite to overcome Hendry over the best of 11 frames tomorrow but the 24-year-old from Leicester is in no danger of falling victim to complacency.
"Stephen beat me 4-2 in the Malta Cup last week, so I owe him one," he said.
"He's not been doing much lately but he's a class act and it was obvious he couldn't keep playing as badly as he has been. I still think he's got tournaments in him."