Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-4 Stephen Maguire
Five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan held off Stephen Maguire's spirited fightback to reach his seventh UK Championship final with a 6-4 victory.
O'Sullivan, beaten in last year's final by Mark Selby, looked in ominous form early on, opening up a 4-0 lead with breaks of 61, 54 and 64.
Maguire made 91 and 129 as he cut the deficit to 5-4, but O'Sullivan - who had a 111 clearance - edged through.
He faces 2008 winner Shaun Murphy or Ryan Day in Sunday's best-of-19 final.
"He came back at me but I was lucky to be 4-0 ahead," O'Sullivan told BBC Sport.
"He didn't capitalise on the first few frames and I did well to stay in and am pleased to reach another UK final.
"I knew he was playing well because I saw his results and he looked to be cueing well. I knew I had to play decent to get through."
Maguire added: "It would have been nice to get to 5-5 and see what happens. He was starting to rock a little bit because nobody likes it when you come back on them. I just did not get a chance."
O'Sullivan improving with age
O'Sullivan is aiming to equal Steve Davis' haul of six UK titles and victory would also draw him level with Stephen Hendry's 18 'Triple Crown' triumphs in the BBC's World, UK and Masters events.
At 42 years old, it will also be his third ranking final of an outstanding season, having already claimed the English Open and Shanghai Masters, as well as finishing runner-up in two invitational events.
The second frame was crucial as Maguire could have levelled at 1-1 but missed a simple final black off the spot, allowing O'Sullivan to take it.
The mid-session interval seemed to help Maguire, who hit back by winning four of the next five frames, but O'Sullivan progressed with a 63 break after his opponent's poor safety.
O'Sullivan said he has had to "battle and battle" for form this year, and feels he has yet to hit theheights of 12 months ago despite that final loss to Selby.
"You have to tough it out sometimes," added O'Sullivan.
"There is no player in the game who can play badly and win apart from Mark Selby, he is the only guy. This week I have not been at my best but I have dug in and it is all down to positive mental attitude.
"For me, Selby is in his prime. He has not done well in this tournament but he has won a title this season. He is definitely the best player in the world and I am able to give him a game on my day.
"It is about consistency and he has had that over the last few years."
Shaun Murphy 6-3 Ryan Day
Five-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan set up an intriguing contest against Shaun Murphy by reaching his seventh UK Championship final.
The two Englishmen have not seen eye-to-eye during their careers and Murphy beat O'Sullivan at last month's invitational Champion of Champions event.
O'Sullivan held off a semi-final fightback from Stephen Maguire to progress 6-4, while Murphy was in fine form defeating Ryan Day 6-3.
Sunday's best-of-19 final starts at 13:00 GMT and concludes from 19:00, live on BBC Two and the BBC Sport website.
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