KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 7 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani are on the verge of surpassing the RM2 million mark in prize money this season after reaching the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou today.
The independent pair staged a stunning comeback to beat Indonesia's world No. 4 Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto 17-21, 21-16, 27-25 in a thrilling 81-minute semi-final, saving six match points along the way.
The victory keeps them in the hunt for their first major crown on the World Tour.
In the final tomorrow, they will face either world No. 2 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark or world No. 11 Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi of Indonesia.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin, making their WTF debut, have enjoyed a sensational season, capturing three World Tour titles — the Japan Open (Super 750), China Open (Super 1000) and Arctic Open (Super 500).
The pair have racked up an impressive US$258,858 (RM1.13 million) from just eight tournaments in the past four months, including US$148,000 (RM658,731) from their China Open triumph — their biggest single cheque to date.
Victory in tomorrow's final would earn them an additional US$210,000 (RM934,700), pushing their total earnings for the year to RM2.06 million.
Sze Fei credited the vocal support of the Hangzhou crowd for their semi-final triumph.
"It was a tight game, and all credit to the fans who cheered us on," said Sze Fei.
"It has been a great journey for us this year, but it is not over yet. We want to focus on one more match."
Izzuddin revealed that the pair played fearlessly, knowing they had nothing to lose against Fajar-Rian.
"We went for broke as we had nothing to lose. It's better to give it our all rather than playing safe and not performing our best," said Izzuddin.
"After fighting so hard, we stayed brave at match point to earn this memorable win."
Having won their last three finals, Sze Fei-Izzuddin will head into tomorrow's match with confidence as they aim for a fourth crown to cap a stellar season.