World champion Chen Long outmuscled fellow Chinese Lin Dan 21-13 21-12 in a one-way semi-final at the All-England Championships on Saturday to confirm a shift in power in men's badminton.
Chen, who has remained in Lin's shadow as he has advanced to the top of the rankings, rubber-stamped his status with a superb all-round performance over the five-time champion.
The 31-year-old, who beat Lin for the first time in Superseries events at his seventh attempt, said: "The important phase was coming from behind in the second.
"This win means that I can improve knowing I can beat players like that."
Chen will play Jan O Jorgensen, Denmark's world No 2, in the final as he looks to regain the title he first won in 2013.
Jorgensen became the first European to reach the men's final since Peter Gade in 2004 with a crushing 21-11 21-12 victory over Japan's Sho Sasaki.
The Dane has yet to drop a game this week.
The women's final will be contested by India's Saina Nehwal and world champion Carolina Marin of Spain, the second time no Chinese player has reached the final in three years.
Nehwal, a former semi-finalist, defeated Sun Yu of China, while an ever vocal Marin saw off young Chinese Taipei tyro Tai Tzu Ying 21-18 21-11.
All-England Open badminton semi-final results in Bimingham on Saturday (seeds in CAPS):
Men's singles
2-J JORGENSEN (Den) bt S Sasaki (Jpn) 21-11, 21-12
1-Chen L (Chn) bt 5-Lin D (Chn) 21-13 21-12
Women's singles
3-S NEHWAL (Ind) bt Sun Yu (Chn) 21-13, 21-13
6-C MARIN (Spa) bt 7-TAI TZU YING (Twn) 21-18 21-11,
Men's Doubles:
2-M BOE & C MOGENSEN (Den) bt 5-H ENDO & K Hayakawa (Jpn) 13-21 21-17 21-16
Fu Haifeng & Zhang Nan (Chn) bt M Conrad-Petersen & M Pieler Kolding (Den) 21-15 21-9
Women's Doubles:
8-BAO Y & Tang Y (Chn) bt Tang J & Zhong Q (Chn) 21-10 21-14
5-WANG X & YU Y (Chn) bt (1) TIAN Q & ZHAO Y (Chn) 21-14 21-12
Mixed Doubles:
4-T AHMAD & L NATSIR (Idn) bt 2-J FISHER NIELSEN & C PEDERSEN (Den) 21-17 21-11
1-ZHANG N & ZHAO Y (Chn) bt P Jordan & D Susanto (Idn) 21-15 21-10