PETALING JAYA: Top seeds Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah lived up to expectations by earning a spot in the Japan Masters final after overcoming home pair Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in the semi-finals on Saturday (Nov 15).

Pearly-Thinaah entered the match with a psychological advantage, having won four of their five previous encounters against the Japanese duo, but their clash at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium was a tight and hard-fought affair.