A late try has seen Waikato sneak past Otago in the NPC on Friday night, booking themselves a "home" semi-final with a 27-25 victory in Rotorua.
The location of that fixture is still to be determined though, with Hamilton unable to host matches next week because of COVID-19 alert levels.
Trailing 25-20 in wet conditions entering the final 10 minutes, lock James Tucker scored next to the left post, before D'Angelo Leuila converted to see Waikato take the decisive lead.
The win sees Waikato move to second in the NPC's Premiership division with 30 points, eight behind runaway leaders Hawke's Bay.
Wellington can equal Waikato's 30 points, provided they beat Tasman on Saturday with a bonus point. However the Lions cannot overtake the Mooloos, due to the head to head rule - thanks to Waikato's 43-37 victory in August.
Waikato's semi-final opponents are still to be decided, with Wellington, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury and Tasman all to play in this weekend's final round, with two points separating the four sides.
After opening the scoring through winger Freedom Vaha'akolo in the first half, Otago's cause was hampered by the loss of flanker Sam Fischlii - who was shown a red card for a shoulder to the head of Waikato's James Thompson.
The two sides traded penalties through the boots of Leuila and Josh Ioane, before a try to Thompson saw Waikato take a 13-11 lead into halftime.
Vaha'akolo grabbed the first try of the second half to see Otago re-take the lead, but they were quickly down again as Ryan Tongia restored Waikato's advantage.
The lead changed hands again in the 63rd minute, thanks to Otago's Matt Faddes scoring his side's third try, but that advantage was squandered again thanks to Tucker's winner 10 minutes from time.
The defeat leaves Otago sitting third in the NPC's Championship, however, the visitors won't finish any lower than that, with Southland unable to overtake them before next weekend's semi-finals.
