Mark Selby, so impressive en route to winning the Masters last month, achieved his first world-ranking event success in tenacious fashion by recovering from an 8-5 deficit to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 9-8 in the final of the Welsh Open in Newport last night.

Selby, from Leicester, recovered from the brink of defeat to collect the £35,000 first prize. During this reversal of fortune, he was blessed with a benevolent run of the balls, but no one could deny his fortitude in overcoming such a formidable front-runner.

Having battled doggedly to beat Stephen Hendry 6-4 in the semi-finals on Saturday, Selby, 24, led 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3, containing O’Sullivan for lengthy periods. Two frames were reracked and the first session dragged on for more than three hours.

Yet O’Sullivan, although clearly ill at ease in the often defensive, fragmented exchanges, stayed patient before finally breaking free of the shackles to compile a 108 break in the eighth frame, ensuring parity at 4-4. It was a sign of things to come.

On the resumption, O’Sullivan swiftly moved 8-5 ahead, helped by breaks of 93, 135, 63 and 54, but could not seal the victory despite having his chances.

O’Sullivan cracked in the decider. Having failed to dislodge the final red from the side cushion in potting a black, the two-time world champion misjudged an ill-advised double to a middle pocket. He also went in-off and did not have another shot.

“I didn’t think I had a hope at 8-5 but I just kept plugging away and tried to have a positive vibe. It was something special to win the Masters but this means so much,” Selby, who climbs to a career-high fourth in the provisional world rankings, said.

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