John Higgins, a sportsman who explodes the theory that nice guys do not finish first, joined an elite club by beating Shaun Murphy 18-9 in the final of the Betfred.com World Championship in Sheffield last night.

Higgins joined Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan in the select list of those with three or more Crucible triumphs. He also became, at 33, the oldest recipient of the sport’s most coveted title since Dennis Taylor in 1985.

The success capped a terrific season for Higgins, who has earned more world-ranking points, compiled more century breaks (42) and, with the £250,000 first prize, collected more prize money (£459,925) than anyone else.

“I went for nine years between my first (in 1998) and second World Championship wins,” the Scot said. “You wonder if you will ever win again, so to do the job twice in three years is amazing. To be classed with players like Steve, Stephen and Ronnie is a real honour. I’ve elevated myself.” With the progression of the 2007 final still fresh in his memory, Higgins was never likely to drop his guard, even though he enjoyed an 11-5 overnight advantage. Two years ago, he led Mark Selby 12-4 and was pegged back to 14-13, but, digging extremely deep, pulled away to win 18-13.

With a sweetly cued yellow from distance, Higgins initiated a colours clearance for 12-5, at which point Murphy could still have suffered the ignominy of being the first player to lose a Crucible final a session early since Jimmy White was trounced 18-5 by Hendry in 1993.

Yet Murphy, world champion in 2005, is a resilient character, who has ignored booing from a section of the crowd and having his private life — he is in the middle of a divorce — dissected by the tabloids, to reach his second world final in four years.

Murphy compiled a 91 break in the eighteenth frame, but was prevented from embarking on a sustained run by an outstanding long pot from Higgins and a red that deviated off course.

Higgins powered in the blue from distance before adding the decisive pink in the nineteenth frame and clearing up for 14-6 when Murphy, set to steal the twentieth, watched in horror as a slowly rolled last red down the side cushion veered off course.

Refusing to dwell on the setback, Murphy fought back to 14-8, but Higgins compiled a 61 break to win the 23rd frame before shading the last of the afternoon, thanks largely to trapping his rival in a telling snooker on the yellow.

Although his overall performance was not as dominant as the score indicated, the father-of-three from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, re-entered the auditorium knowing that, barring the worst collapse in 33 years of snooker at the Crucible, he would succeed.

There was no hint of alarm. Instead, Higgins efficiently crossed the line with further breaks of 48, 58 and 73 to win his twentieth world-ranking tournament. Only Hendry (36), Davis (28) and O’Sullivan (21) have more.

Higgins — who beat Jamie Cope and Selby in earlier rounds by single-frame margins — highlighted that grit as hugely influential on his mentality against Murphy. “I’ve come through against three of the most dangerous young players out there, fighting fire with fire, and that gave me bundles of confidence,” Higgins, who beat Mark Allen 17-13 in the semi-finals, said. “After those wins, I felt totally controlled at the table. I knew I could cope with anything.”

Murphy, who received £125,000, echoed that sentiment. “John’s an awesome match player,” he said.

“All credit to the guy. I was standing there at times without a clue what to do. His tactical game is the best I’ve ever seen.”

How the final unfolded

John Higgins (Scot) bt Shaun Murphy (Eng) 18-9

(Frame scores; Higgins first: 83-0, 85-6, 79-20, 7-83, 50-96, 4-114 (109), 49-63, 69-3, 98-1, 12-87, 70-51, 95-11, 70-45, 132-0 (128), 82-0, 128-6 (128), 64-42, 0-91, 60-49, 76-43, 28-70, 49-79, 94-26, 80-59, 106-21, 0-78, 105-0).

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