Waterford beat Cork by four points at Semple Stadium to reach their first Munster final since 2016.
The 1-28 to 1-24 victory was also Waterford's first championship win since the 2017 All-Ireland semi-final. In the nine intervening games, they had lost eight and drawn one.
"It's a relief for the older lads," Man of the Match Tadhg de Burca told Sky Sports.
"We've had two years now without a win. I'm just delighted that the young lads stepped up as well and put in a good shift.
"It'll lift the confidence but we know we're up against it now in the Munster final. Either Tipp or Limerick, they'll be strong favourites. The lads will pump us hard in training over the next two weeks and get us ready.
"Hard-working forwards, they make the backs' job easy. I'm delighted with their performance, especially Dessie, his first game inter-county [championship], he stepped up to the plate and was excellent."
Watch the Full-Time Highlights of Cork v Waterford in the Munster SHC Semi-Final here on GAANOW!
Full-Time Score:
Waterford: 1-28
Cork: 1-24 pic.twitter.com/eXRjRqqiBU— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 31, 2020
Asked who he'd prefer to face in the final, Waterford manager Liam Cahill joked: "Sure look, All-Ireland champions and current Munster champions, neither of them if we could avoid it."
Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile