Ng Tze Yong is one match away from his first title of the season after the top seed reached the Bahrain International Challenge men's singles final.
Ng was given his sternest test yet in the competition, but aced it in straight games after a 22-20, 21-14 win over Finland's Kalle Koljonen.
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The Malaysian now faces Chinese Taipei qualifier Kuo Kuan-lin for the men's singles crown.
The aim for entering Ng into this tournament was to boost his ranking points to ensure he made it to the Malaysia Open as one of the top 32 shuttlers.
The goal was achieved as Ng made the cut for the Super 1000 event in January next year, along with Lee Zii Jia.
Ng did well to build on a stellar last year that saw him win three titles at the Polish and Scottish Open as well as the Belgian International.
This year he reached the Syed Modi International semi-finals, before going on to secure silver at the Commonwealth Games.
The world number 27 also made the semis of the Australian Open last month.
