Mark Williams, a Cardiff resident for just a month, will be able to rely on home support when he takes his place in the Regal Welsh Open final tomorrow.
The Welshman, who moved to the capital from Ebbw Vale just after Christmas, defeated Paul Hunter 6-2 to reach the final of his local event at the city's International Arena.
And Williams is relishing doing battle for the £82,500 top prize in his own back yard.
"It's the furthest I've been in this tournament for a few years so I can't wait to play in the final," he said.
"I'm sure it will be an excellent final and hopefully I'll give the fans something to cheer."
Williams had beaten Hunter seven times from their previous eight meetings, with his only defeat coming at Wembley last year, where the Yorkshireman triumphed 10-9 in the B&H Masters final.
The world number two won the opening frame with a break of 69 and cleared yellow to pink to lead 2-0 before a run of 56 gave him the third as well.
Williams then added the fourth to claim a 4-0 interval lead before Hunter stopped the rot by closing to 4-2.
The key frame proved to be the seventh. Hunter fired in a long yellow, bridging awkwardly over the pink, and threatened to force a re-spotted black but suffered a kick on the blue.
He later attempted to knock it in from distance but missed and Williams sunk it to lead 5-2 and won the next as well to reach the final.
Williams won his first Welsh title at Newport in 1996 and regained it three years later in Cardiff.
In 2000 he won the Embassy World Championship and claimed top spot in the world rankings before spending 18 months in the doldrums.
But he came roaring back to form this season after teaming up with former world champion Terry Griffiths, who has been giving him coaching and general advice.
Williams will play the winner of the other semi-final between Stephen Hendry and Marco Fu.